Sweden celebrates their victory over Finland after an intense penalty shootout
SINGAPORE – The inaugural hosting of the 6th World University Floorball Championships in Singapore came to an end on 22 June after a successful five days which drew in a record-breaking 15,297 spectators as well as the participation of 16 teams from ten countries. Previous editions of the WUFC had drawn an average of 5,500 with 6,172 being the highest record when it was held in Sweden in 2010.
Sweden swept past all opponents to claim gold in both male and female categories of the tournament, with the men doing so in dominant form.
The Sweden men’s team won all six of its games at the competition, including a 6-2 victory over Switzerland in the finals. While the score line suggested it was an easy game for the Swedes, in reality it was not so as the Swiss made their counterparts work for the ball and hustle hard to break through the defence.
Swiss forward Joel Friolet chasing the ball
In the women’s final, Sweden gave up its lead to draw 7-7 with Finland in the third period to set up for a nervy ending as both sides sought for the winner in the extra period. With neither being able to do so, it went down to the wire as both team took part in the dreaded penalty-shootout. Sweden managed to outscore their opponents as Finland failed to convert any of their penalties and subsequently yielded the gold medal to the Swedes.
The day also saw the host women’s team battle Switzerland for third place but unfortunately they had to settle for fourth after a 7-0 loss. The ladies did well initially to hold their own against their bigger European counterparts but eventually yielded to several well-taken goals by the Swiss.
The male’s race for third saw a closer match, as Czech Republic gave Finland a scare by taking a 3-2 lead after the first period. However Finland reacted strongly to score four goals in the next period while the Czechs could only muster two of their own as they then trailed by a goal. The final quarter was in the same vein as both team refused to back off and scored a goal each but Finland held on tight to earn the bronze medal.
Men’s Podium
“The hosting of this FISU Championship holds great significance to the Singapore University Sports Council”, Sheryl Low, President Singapore University Sports Council commented. “This, is our first partnership with FISU and we are promoting university sports and sporting values such as encouraging friendship, fraternity, fair-play, perserverance, integrity, cooperation and application amongst students. This international event provides a rare opportunity for the students to compete and learn from the best university floorball teams around the world.”
The next edition of this FISU WUC will be hosted in Porto, Portugal in 2016.
(Source: WUCOC – Images: Voxsports)
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