It took your FITB staff about a day to digest and fully realize what happened yesterday at the Tchoukball competition finals in Kaohsiung. Here comes a short summary, but you can check the FITB website www.tchoukball.org, the official World Games website www.worldgames2009.tw and the blog www.tchoukballworld.net for a more detailed account of what happened yesterday 26 July in Kaohsiung.
In the women tournament, Canada surprisingly won the bronze medal 45-33 to Great Britain whose defense was not as efficient as during the qualifying games. The Swiss ladies fought hard for about one period and a half, but got eventually distanced by a very strong Taiwanese team, completely and utterly supported by an enthusiastic crowd of fan. The Taiwanese won the gold medal 50 to 37.
In the men tournament, Singapore confirmed its performance of the previous day and beat the more experienced British team by a mere 4 points for the 3rd place, thereby depriving the British delegation of a medal for the first time in years. The Taiwanese team confirmed its supremacy by smashing the Swiss men team 67 to 39. Taiwanese players won the Tchoukball gold medal in front of none other than their own President, who especially came to Kaohsiung for the World Games and saw the two last periods of the game.
The VIP seats were full and, in addition to the president of Taiwan, both the President and the Secretary General of the International World Games Association were in attendance of the men’s final. The sports hall was packed with more than 1700 spectators and many unlucky Taiwanese fans were turned down at the entrance because the tickets had sold out.
After the Tchoukball competition medal ceremony, all players and staff converged to the newly built Kaohsiung main stadium for the World Games Closing ceremony, which was truly spectacular. The colorful dances, lively music and official speeches closed the fantastic and unforgettable experience lived by the Tchoukball delegations and staff during these World Games.
Do not forget that you can also check the results of all games at www.fitbcompetitions.org.
