2nd World University Woodball Championship
Bangkok, Thailand - September 26th to 28th, 2006
Chinese Taipei and Thailand at the Lead
No one was able to challenge the supremacy of China Taipei and Thailand in this competition
Taipei City (TPE) had the pleasure of hosting the first World University Woodball Championship. And that of course makes sense, since this is one of the places where the game originated, and it has become very popular here. Chinese Taipei dominated the competition, pocketing seven medals, three of them in gold. This year, the city of Bangkok took charge of organizing the second edition. The competition was played in three days at the "North Park" golf club and was hosted by Sripatum University where the official ceremonies took place. There is no doubt that for the University Sports Board of Thailand this was another stage in the rush to the Universiade next summer.
From the outset, the President of the University Sports Board of Thailand (USBT), Dr. Pornchai Matangkasmbat reassured all participants on safety. The championship took place just a few days after the coup d'état that upset the Thai government, but the events had no incidence on the smooth operation of the competition. Woodball has many assets to please large numbers: it is easy to learn, but hard to master, it can be played for competition or simply for fun. Any lawn can be used as a field and finally, the equipment required is really not expensive. These are no doubt why it is so popular in countries in South Asia where it first developed.
Players use a wooden mallet to hit a wooden ball weighing 400 g, with a diameter of 9.5 cm. The ball must finish its course by rolling through a gate consisting of two wooden pins 16 cm apart. All the skill lies in using as few strokes as possible to reach the gate; in fact each itinerary is characterized by a "par" (like in golf) which is the ideal number of strokes to get through the gate. The course consists of three separate parts: the tee off, the fairway and the green where the gate stands.
Weerasak Imjarouen (THA)
11 countries were enrolled by the organizers with a total of 118 participants (36 more than in the previous edition). After a very colourful Opening Ceremony, as always in Thailand, the weather was touch-and-go for the competition itself. After the first day, two countries pulled ahead quite logically. In fact, no one seemed to be able to challenge the players from Thailand and Chinese Taipei. After the first round (24 gates), Thai Weerasak Imjarouen took the head of the men's tournament. Rain was a nuisance for the women's tournament, and the first round was not entirely validated, so the ranking was not announced until the next day. At the end of the day, after two rounds for the ladies, Chinese Taipei had both first and second: Siao-Hui Wu was in first place and Hui-Jung Wang just behind her. There was a tough fight for the silver and bronze medals. Suthida Chawianghong from Thailand and Pei-Ju Ssu from China Taipei were just one point behind and could still hope to win second place if Hui-Jung Wang made an error. For the men, the second day saw a few changes in leadership. Pei-Yu ku, from Chinese Taipei temporarily edged in front of Thaï Weerasak Imjarouen, although the latter was still in the running for the title. So the third round was decisive in both individual categories. The eight best men and women would vie for the title.
Siao-Hui Wu (TPE)
For the men, Weerasak Imjarouen, who is also a very good golfer (he will be taking part in the Universiade tournament in 2007), took the day after a glorious third round. He won the gold without any possible doubt in front of Pei-Yu Ku (TPE). For the bronze, another Thai, Jongkol Pimparieu would join the podium. The team event for men also went to Thailand ahead of Chinese Taipei and Korea. The ladies played a spectacular third round as Hui-Jung Wang recovered her advantage when no one suspected she could. Siao-Hui Wu had been comfortably ahead, but did not do well on the last day and had to be content with the silver medal (for a differential of a single point!). The bronze medal slipped away from Thai Suthida Chawianghong (who finally came in sixth) in favour of Pei-Ju Ssu. Still all three places went to the women from Chinese Taipei. This was more than just a triple victory, since actually they took the top five. And the team competition as well, of course, followed by Thailand and Korea.
No one was able to challenge the supremacy of Chinese Taipei and Thailand as they also won the mixed doubles events. Gold and silver went to Chinese Taipei with Kuo-Liang Lee/Tzu-Chi and Po-Hsuan Yang/Hui-Jung Wang, and the bronze to the local couple Nirun Navin/Saimai Auefue.
Organizing Committee
Sripatum University 61 Phaloyotin Road Jatujak, Bangkok 10900 Thailand Phone: ++(66.2)5791111 ext 1198 Fax: ++(66.2)5791111 ext 2125 e-mail: chatchai@spu.ac.th URL: http://www.wuwc2006.spu.ac.th/
FISU Technical Chairman
NEWS
Mixed Team Medallists
Women's Team Medallists
Women's Medallists
Results
