World's Top Judo Sensation Eyes Olympic Gold

The world's top judo sensation, Yang Yung-wei from Taiwan, is looking to seize gold at the Paris Olympics this summer.

Transcript

00:00I will do my best to get on the stage and not to put too much pressure on myself.

00:07Win or lose, I enjoy the process.

00:11Words of encouragement from Taiwan's top judo athlete to himself.

00:15That's the attitude he's taking with him to his second Olympic appearance in Paris later this year.

00:2026-year-old Yang Yongwei is from the indigenous Taiwan community.

00:24He's an Olympic silver medalist, an Asian Games champion

00:28and a top-ranked judoka in the world in his weight category.

00:33He has shattered numerous records for Taiwan.

00:36His silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 was Taiwan's first ever in the sport.

00:42This summer, he's looking to make history once again in Paris

00:46as Taiwan's first judo gold medalist.

00:49Every training session is crucial.

00:53This is something you might not have noticed.

00:56It's very likely to happen on the field.

01:00Yang was born in southern Taiwan.

01:02He began practicing judo in third grade with the help of his mother,

01:06who also did the sport when she was young.

01:09From an early age, he has always dreamed of winning Olympic gold,

01:13a goal he nearly realized at the Tokyo Summer Games.

01:16He won silver in the men's 60kg category,

01:19narrowly losing out to Takato Naohisa of Japan.

01:42Yang's debut in Tokyo turned him into an internet sensation overnight.

01:46Fans poured into his social media pages, mostly from Taiwan and Japan.

01:51His loyal internet following has since become a source of strength.

02:04At the 2023 Asian Games in China, he bagged his very first gold,

02:08which was also Taiwan's 100th gold in the event.

02:17The best weapon I have is my ability to adapt to the competition.

02:25Fueled by his dream and supported by his family and fans,

02:28Yang is determined to succeed.

02:30For him, failure is part of the process.

02:33And rankings mean nothing in the face of stiff competition.

02:37It all comes down to one thing,

02:39how he's feeling on the day of the competition.

02:42Everyone has a chance in the competition,

02:47but no one knows for sure.

02:49So the state of mind is very important.

02:52The nation will be watching as Yang steps into the ring in Paris,

02:56eagerly anticipating Yang making history once again.

02:59Justin Wu, Leslie Liao and Sandy Qi in Kaohsiung for Taiwan Plus.