Taiwan’s women’s tug-of-war team on Sunday finished fourth in the closed competition of the World Outdoor Championships in Spain, earning a berth at next year’s World Games.
The 12-member team, which won the open club championship in the women’s under-540kg category on Friday last week, competed on Sunday against nine other teams for the closed competition title in the same weight category.
In the competition, held by the Tug of War International Federation (TWIF), five teams, including fourth-placed Taiwan, qualified to compete in next year’s World Games in Birmingham, Alabama.
Photo courtesy of the Tug of War International Federation
Chinese Taipei Tug of War Association secretary-general Cho Yao-peng said that the team achieved its goal of gaining a place in next year’s Games in the US and performed as expected, if not better, taking into consideration the COVID-19 restrictions in Taiwan and the strength of the other nine teams that competed in the Basque Country.
“Our athletes weren’t able to practice for two months,” he said, “It was difficult for them to get back their grip on the ropes.”
Prior to the competition, Cho had said that while Taiwan had won two previous TWIF championships, the main goal this year was to qualify for next year’s World Games, rather than seeking a third consecutive win.
In the preliminary round, Taiwan finished second with 22 points, behind Sweden with 27.
During those matches, Taiwan won against the Czech Republic, South Africa, Israel, England, the Basque Country, Germany and the Netherlands, and they tied with Switzerland and lost to Sweden.
In the finals, Taiwan lost to Switzerland, as well as to the Netherlands, finishing fourth.
The other four teams that qualified for a berth at next year’s Games were Sweden, Switzerland, Netherlands and the Basque Country.
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