Taiwan’s first Olympic gold medalist, Chen Shih-Hsin, sees a similarity between her life and the plot of the superhit movie Dangal. As per NDTV, after watching the Nitesh Tiwari directorial with Chinese subtitles, Chen realized how relatable it was to her life.
Chen won gold in the women’s flyweight Taekwondo category at the Olympics, ending a 72-year wait for Taiwan to win a gold medal. Taiwan, a self-governing democracy, competes in international sports as Chinese Taipei, a fictitious name.
Reflecting on the film, Chen said, “My father was very strict, just like the father in ‘Dangal’. I felt he was even tougher on me.” Now, she teaches discipline to around 100 kids at her Taekwondo school in Xinfeng, a small town near Taiwan’s Hsinchu.
Chen’s life story mirrors the movie’s themes of grit and perseverance. Her mother is from Taiwan’s indigenous Atayal community, and her father runs a Taekwondo center in Taipei. Chen started martial arts at five, quickly rising in the sport. She won her World Cup debut at 15 and took her second world title in Brazil two years later.
Her path wasn’t easy. After a fight with her father at 18, Chen left home and worked as a ‘betel nut beauty’, a term for fancy people who sell betel nuts and cigarettes at the stands in Taiwan. During this time of rebellion, she also quit Taekwondo and distanced herself from her family.
Turning life’s challenges
A turning point came when Chen heard a radio ad about a son’s duty to care for his parents. She decided to make up with her father. Renewed with determination, she missed the 2000 Sydney Olympics but came back stronger for the next four years. Her hard work and her father’s support led to her historic win in Athens. “The Olympic gold was a shared dream”, Chen says. “My father wanted this medal for our gym, and it was as much his achievement as mine”.
After retiring from competition at 25, Chen pursued a PhD in Sports Psychology and became an Associate Professor at a top university. She started a family, but faced challenges, including an alleged affair, leading her to resign and move to Xinfeng with her son, leaving her daughter with her estranged husband.
Today, Chen teaches Taekwondo to local children at her own school. Although her Olympic gold medal is still at her father’s house, she now aims to win another gold medal for her school.
