Taipei, March 20 (CNA) Taiwan's first female baseball umpire-in-chief Liu Po-chun on Tuesday received the "2019 Women and Sport World Award," which was granted in New York by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Liu won the World Trophy because of her staunch advocacy for female empowerment through sport, the IOC said.
Throughout her sports career, she has not been deterred by gender discrimination, the IOC said on its website.
"It has not been an easy road," the IOC said. "But her determination saw her go from being a volunteer in the Little League to becoming the first female baseball umpire in her native Chinese Taipei."
Liu, the first Taiwanese to receive the IOC Women and Sport World Award, thanked her parents, saying they are not typical Asian parents as the allowed her to enjoy all kinds of sports and did not demand that she studied all day.
In a Facebook post, she said it was not easy to battle gender discrimination to become the first female baseball umpire in Taiwan.
"I believe you all understand how difficult it is for women to take a leadership role," she wrote, "we cannot just be good, we have to be much better."
The IOC award will serve an inspiration to empower girls and young women so that they can realize their full potential and take control of their lives, said Liu, who is 40.
In 2017, Liu was selected to participate in the U.S. Department of State and espnW Global Sports Mentoring Program, which aims to empower emerging leaders to serve their local communities by increasing access to and opportunities for participation in sports.
In 2018, she made Forbes magazine's list of the world's most influential women in sports.
Each year, the OIC awards a World Trophy and six continental ones, which all come with a grant to help with the work of women who are seen as role models and change agents in the pursuit of gender equality.
In partnership with UN Women, a United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women, the awards ceremony was held this year at the U.N. headquarters in New York on Tuesday.
