The nation’s women’s indoor tug-of-war team secured the championship, beating the Netherlands 3-0 at the World Games on Sunday, which was Taiwan’s third gold medal in the category following triumphs in 2005 and 2009.
The team’s quest for victory this time began with the invincibility shown in the preliminary games, conquering strong opponents from the Netherlands, China, Germany and South Africa and not losing a single match. The momentum was later carried over to the semi-final, in which the team defeated South Africa with a perfect score of 3-0.
The Netherlands proved to be no match for Taiwan in the championship game, losing three straight.
Photo courtesy of the Chinese Taipei Tug of War Association
Sports Administration Deputy Director-General Wang Shui-wen (王水文) sent a telegram congratulating the athletes on behalf of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
A majority of the athletes on the team were members of the tug-of-war team of Taipei Jingmei Girls High School (景美女中拔河隊), who have won 15 championship titles in the past three years in various international competitions. Their success story was even turned into a film titled Step Back to Glory (志氣).
The high-school girls are now students enrolled in the physical education department at National Normal University.
The gold scooped by the tug-of-war team also helped Taiwan register their first gold at the World Games this year, which opened in Cali, Colombia, last week.
First held in 1981, the World Games is held for sports that are not contested in the Olympic Games. Greater Kaohsiung hosted the World Games in 2009.
Meanwhile, Taiwanese athletes also dazzled in the Summer Deaflympics in Sofia, Bulgaria, over the weekend, with Huang Shu-min (黃淑敏) and Lin Hsiang-tzu (林香孜) achieving gold and bronze in the bowling category.
As of yesterday, Taiwanese competitors at the Deaflympics had claimed one gold, one silver and two bronzes.
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