Taekwondo
Andrew Yick made history by becoming Great Britain’s first-ever Deaflympic competitor in a martial arts event but could only finish fourth in the Tae-kwon-do (58kg) event.  Cheered on by a pack of colourful British supporters, Yick fought his way through a tight first bout.
A muscle tear did not help Yick’s chances of progress however and he was later outclassed by Muhammed Guler (Turkey), who went on to win gold.
Andrew needed hospital treatment for a foot injury after losing his 3rd/4th play-off bout but was back at the training camp this evening to accept commiserations from fellow athletes.
In an early kick-off, Team GB had to settle for a 0-0 draw with Ireland. The result leaves both teams level on 4 points at the top of their group.
GB had beaten Japan 2-1 in their first game on a waterlogged pitch but conditions were much better today.
A tight match of few chances saw two Irish players sent off and they were joined by GB’s Oliver Monksfield, who was dismissed for retaliation after a tackle.
Young striker Jamie Clarke went closest for GB with a late shot that hit the post.
Monksfield will miss GB’s next game, their final group game against the USA on Tuesday. That match kicks off at 2.30am British time. Â Check our Twitter feed or pitch-side updates.
Badminton
In the Team Event, Team GB were drawn a tough start against a strong South Korea.
GB pushed their opponents all the way in each of the five games (two singles and three doubles matches) and the 0-5 scoreline did not reflect the quality of the team’s play.
Team Manager Janet Thompson was confident results would improve for the afternoon match with Hong Kong and she was proved correct as GB romped to an easy 5-0 win.
Opening ceremony flag bearer Andrea Hardwick was in action, teaming up with Kirstie Allen – making her Deaflympics debut – to win their afternoon rubber.
The matches took place in a terrific atmosphere as badminton is an extremely popular sport in Taiwan. Â Many locals waved flags for Chinese Taipei, GB’s next opponents.
GB Table Tennis saw their hopes in the Team event come to an early end in the Taipei Arena where games were being beamed live on TV.
It was always going to be difficult against highly-ranked Japan but one defeat turned to two when GB were beaten by Austria in the afternoon.
Coach David Evans still had special words of praise for Nicholas Gilmour who “played out of his skin” to beat the Japanese world No.2 in his morning match.
GB Tennis were also out this morning with Anthony Sinclair and Daniel Tunstall both in action… or nearly.
Sinclair progressed against Jurgen Scheutz of Austria in the Men’s Singles first round.  Tunstall, meanwhile put in a perfect performance by turning up on court with his racket – his Nigerian opponent failed to show up!
Full results will be available at the official Deaflympics website.  Photos from Day One can be viewed in the UKDS gallery.
(view the schedule)
The athletes get going tomorrow with John Ruddy and Nelson Bolumbu first out of the blocks at 10am local time for their 100m heats.  Lauren Peffers follows in the 400m, with the finals of both events starting after 12 noon British time.
More tennis players are in action: Lewis Fletcher, Catherine Graham and Darren O’Donnell.
On the badminton court, can Great Britain silence the noisy supporters of Chinese Taipei in their must-win match?
The swimmers have been training in the Olympic sized pool at our hotel base but tomorrow the real action starts out in Hsinchu County.
Over on the football pitch, Team GB play their second group match, this time against Thailand. Striker Danielle Evans could only smile when asked if she could score another hat-trick so let’s hope Dani and the rest of Team GB have plenty to be cheerful about back at camp tomorrow night.
See you then!
