The 24th Summer Deaflympics opened Sunday in Caxias do Sul, Brazil, with Taiwan's hearing-impaired queen of tennis Lin Chia-wen (???) heading the Taiwanese delegation as flagbearer.

The Sports Administration said it hoped to see Taiwan surpass its haul of four gold, five silver and eight bronze medals from the last Deaflympics in 2017 in Samsun, Turkey.

According to the agency, the Taiwanese delegation consists of 39 athletes, including Hsu An-yi (???), who has set the deaf world record three times in the women's javelin, and badminton ace Shen Yan-ru (???).

The athletes will be competing in eight sports -- athletics, badminton, table tennis, tennis, men's basketball, karate, taekwondo and shooting -- the delegation said.

Originally planned for December 2021, the quadrennial sports event was delayed until May this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Caxias do Sul is the first South American city to host the Summer Deaflympics.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel