Singapore youngsters clinch 2 titles at World Youth Tchoukball Championships
U-15 boys win nail-biting final against Chinese Taipei, while U-18 girls stroll to dominant win over Macau
SINGAPORE — Singapore underlined its credential as one of the top nations in the relatively obscure sport of tchoukball, when its age-group teams won medals in all six categories of the World Youth Tchoukball Championships at the Pasir Ris Recreation Centre on Sunday (16 July).
Months after the national women's team reached No.1 in the world rankings, the city-state clinched two golds, three silvers and one bronze at the event, only behind Chinese Taipei's four-gold, one-silver effort in the nine-team standings.
It was enough to thrill the packed sports hall, as about 1,400 fans roared the boys' Under-15 and girls' Under-18 teams to gold-winning victories.
The U-15 team, in particular, clinched a thrilling 44-40 victory over defending champions Chinese Taipei, in a see-saw match that saw plenty of nail-biting moments and leads changed hands frequently. In the end, Singapore held their nerves in the final period to edge ahead and earn the first gold.
“We were trailing behind at the start of the last period, so we wanted to give it our best to not let the chance of winning go to waste," said right shooter Rayview Lim.
"The team stepped up, put in our best efforts and played with heart. It is an unbelievable feeling since this is the first time the youth team has won a gold medal.
In contrast, the girls' U-18 team were rarely troubled as they strolled to a dominant 43-16 win over Macau in the final. They finished the tournament without a single defeat - four wins in the group stage, and then a 43-19 win over Malaysia in the semi-finals on Sunday morning.
"We started well and didn't make any mistakes with our execution. From then on, it was a case of putting in our defensive efforts and making sure we didn't slip up," said team captain Claudia Tan.
Coach Angie Ng added, “Their performance today really showed the efforts of a whole year’s worth of work. They have made the coaches and the nation proud.”
Record $70k cash sponsorship announced
Edwin Tong, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, was present at the sports hall to give out the prizes.
He also witnessed the announcement by the Tchoukball Association of Singapore (TBAS) of a $70,000 cash sponsorship by aircraft operating leasing company BOC Aviation - the largest cash sponsorship received by TBAS since its inception.
The cash injection will go primarily to supporting TBAS in their high performance systems for three areas: player development, airfare and accommodation for the upcoming World Championships in Prague, and cost of organising major tchoukball events in Singapore.
"With BOC Aviation’s help, our players can now also go into the world champs without having to worry about chipping in for airfare and accommodation, as they have done in the past," said TBAS president Delane Lim.
"We can go into the tournament and defend our position as the top team in the world, and for our men to show they are worthy of their top-three ranking.”
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