SINGAPORE — Singapore is all set to host the 6th World Youth Tchoukball Championships from July 14th to 16th at the Pasir Ris Sports and Recreation Centre. The participating countries will include the host nation Singapore and Chinese Taipei, China, Macau, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, Switzerland, and France. These teams will compete in various age groups for boys and girls in the U12, U15, and U18 categories.
Lending her support to the Team Singapore athletes ahead of the tournament is Minister of State Gan Siow Huang. She was in Bishan for the Family Fun Fit Day and was given a lesson on Tchoukball by the Team Singapore athletes and the Tchoukball Association of Singapore (TBAS) president Delane Lim.
In a short video posted by TBAS, Minister of State Gan did a shoutout to the tchoukball team that will be representing the nation in the upcoming youth tournament, “To all the Team Singapore athletes, all the best for the World Youth Tchoukball Championships!”
In the U18 boys category, Singapore is placed in Group A, along with Hong Kong, Malaysia, and China. Group B consists of Chinese Taipei, Switzerland, Thailand, and Macau. The U18 girls category, on the other hand, only has a single group. Singapore will send two teams to compete against Malaysia, Macau, Hong Kong, and Thailand.
TBAS President Lim had previously set ambitious targets for all the Singapore teams to reach the World Youth Tchoukball Championship finals.
“Singapore tchoukball is the strongest it has been and we are ready to make a statement to the world. The hard work of our current players, officials and those before us who have helped build a strong foundation for the sport, has given us this opportunity to do great things this year and we are ready to take up the challenge,” said Lim.
The rest of the groupings for the U15 and U12 boys and girls can be found below.
Singapore also hosted the previous edition of the World Youth Tchoukball Championships in 2019. During that competition, Singapore achieved impressive results, earning one gold, four silvers, and a bronze medal. The U18 girls’ team emerged victorious by defeating top-seeded Chinese Taipei with a score of 38-30 in the final held at our Tampines Hub. In an equally competitive U18 boys’ final, Singapore put up a good fight against Chinese Taipei but eventually lost 51-55.
Tckhouball’s popularity is soaring in Singapore following the outstanding performance of the national women’s tchoukball team, which secured the top spot in the world rankings earlier this year. This remarkable achievement came after their victory over Chinese Taipei last year in the Asia Pacific Tchoukball Championships.
As a result, there have been growing calls for greater recognition of the sport in Singapore, leading to increased funding from various sources, including sponsorship and crowdfunding effort, and resources allocated to the tchoukball association and its athletes. In March, they were officially granted national sports association status.
The teams have received strong support from Sport Singapore in their bid for glory. SportSG has also stepped in to provide support from facilities to sports science. Since April 2023, tchoukball athletes have had access to National Youth Sports Institute gym facilities and sports psychologists.