Paris, Aug. 11 (CNA) Taiwanese break dancer Sun Chen (孫振) may not have finished as high as he might have hoped at the first Olympic breaking event in Paris on Saturday, but just qualifying for the event and competing against the best in the sport was monumental on its own.
Quake, as Sun is known on the B-Boy circuit, was eliminated in the round robin phase of the competition and finished 12th out of the 16 competitors. Phil Wizard of Canada took home gold.
Though he did not win a medal, Taiwan's B-Boy said he was happy to participate in the event and see his favorite art form showcased at the Olympics.
"I am so happy to be born in this era," said Quake, who gave himself the name because he was born on Sept. 21, 1999, the same day that the second-deadliest earthquake in Taiwan's recorded history hit the island.
Seeded 13th at the Olympics, Quake was selected to Group D in the round robin phase to "battle" dancers hailing from Morocco, the Netherlands and Kazakhstan.
The top two finishers in the group would reach the quarterfinals, meaning that the 24-year-old Taiwanese would likely have to beat two of his three Group D opponents to advance.
He started against B-Boy Billy of Morocco and scored a dominating victory, in which all nine judges in both rounds gave him the edge for a 2-0 (18-0) win.
According to Quake, he wanted to "destroy his opponent" in the first battle right away, which was why he busted out all of his moves early on.
But he then lost to B-Boy Menno of the Netherlands 2-0 (15-3), setting up a showdown with B-Boy Amir of Kazakhstan for a spot in the quarterfinals.
Quake lost 2-0, as Amir was favored by six of the nine judges in the first round and seven of them in the second round, and he saw the decision as an example of the judges' subjectivity and a dancer's skills being the key factors in the competition.
While he is an explosive athlete, who takes a head start by letting loose all his speed and power, Amir is a slow dancer, who takes his time to carefully dish out all the tricks in his bag, Quake said.
"(A win) depended on whether the judges thought my explosiveness was more entertaining to watch or my opponent's slow and steady pace was preferable," Quake said, while admitting that Amir was more skillful than him.
