Taiwan women continue tug-of-war dominance

Taiwan successfully defended their senior women’s 500kg title for the fifth consecutive year, winning two golds and a bronze at the Tug of War Outdoor World Championships in South Africa on Friday.

The championships began in Mossel Bay, South Africa, on Wednesday and were to conclude after press time last night.

On Friday, the first day of the national team events, Taiwan won gold in the senior women’s 500kg and junior women’s 480kg events, with the men’s 600kg team taking bronze.

Taiwan’s Hung Ning-hsuan, fourth left, competes in a tug-of-war event in an undated photograph.

Photo provided by the Chinese Taipei Tug-of-War Association

In the senior women’s 500kg event, Taiwan faced Germany in the final.

The first round was deadlocked for four minutes. With Taiwan trailing by just 50cm and on the verge of losing the round, Germany committed their third offense, handing Taiwan the first round.

They swept the second round, securing their fifth consecutive title.

Team leader Hung Ning-hsuan told the Central News Agency afterward that Germany appeared stronger than before, making the final difficult.

The ground was firm at the beginning, making it easier to attack, Hung said.

However, the soil became loose in the middle of the match, almost costing Taiwan the first round, she said.

Every team member felt tremendous pressure and kept encouraging each other before the match, she said.

After securing gold, they felt relieved and were happy to continue the legacy of their predecessors, she added.

Hung thanked her teammates for trusting each other throughout the competition.

Taiwan also successfully defended their title in the 480kg junior women’s event for the second consecutive year.

Wu Pei-hsuan, deputy leader of the junior women’s team, told reporters after their final that the team leader had caught a cold before the competition, but insisted on participating.

Taiwan had already won three golds and three bronzes in the open club events on Wednesday and Thursday before the national-team events began on Friday.