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The 5th Asia Gateball Championship Taiwan-ChangHua 2008
Friend Sports Club (Kagoshima, Japan) reaches V2 for the first time!
Local Chinese Taipei team's success overturned
 

Tomoko Fukudome (54) provided solid support with her dependable skills
The 5th Asia Gateball Championship
May 23/24/25,
Changhua County, Taiwan Hosted by Asia Gateball Union
Organizer : Chinese Taipei Gateball Association & Changhua County Government






Participating in this tournament, held once every four years, were 176 teams from seven countries or regions. These included China (12 teams), Hong Kong China (5), Japan (48), Korea (8), Macao China (2), Russia (1), and Chinese Taipei (96). First up were the preliminary league matches, split into parts A and B, and consisting of four team league matches on a total of 22 courts. This was followed by tournament matches to determine the teams to represent the courts, with each of the four teams that were first and second in parts A and B participating. The final event was a finals tournament for 22 teams, each representing one of the 22 courts. This was the unique method used to determine the Asia champion team.
 

The Kagoshima Prefecture Club Team has been victorious in three domestic tournaments, including the All Japan Invitational Tournament V2. After winning the previous championship in 2004, the Club Team went on to the V2. In this tournament, Toshiaki Soyama (61) took up sticks with his son, team captain Takaki, for the first time in a long while.

Captain Takaki Soyama (24) was in top form with jumping, double touch, and other feats.  
 

Changhua country Zhang Xing(TPE)
exploits local advantage to take second place!

 

Accurate striking from superb stroke technique
 
While the venue was natural lawn, the grass was patchy in places, the pitch plagued with hollows, and the roll of the ball was unpredictable.
Hard-line measures at times, based on double play strategy.    
 

The men's team from Changhua County where the tournament was held. All members demonstrated highly skilled stroke swing (pendulum swing).
Despite being their first time in the tournament, they built up momentum in the finals to take second place.
 
 
3rd place

Gateball, introduced from Japan, takes off!
Ethnic Phnong team
TaiDong Country Haiduan Bunong (TPE)
 


Various insects, which make their hats colorful, are the team mascots.
Yunlin County C (TPE)

 
 


All the Yunlin competitors play in locally popular hats decorated with a variety of insects made from nylon tape.

     
 

The Phnong team is from an ethnic group that lives in the island's highest mountains. Since Japanese enthusiasts introduced the game to Taiwan about 20 years ago, the sport has quickly spread among all sectors of Phnong society, from children to the elderly. Today, around half of the Phnong population of 5,000 are gateball fans.

 

The team was made up of players from Yunlin County selected for this tournament. Since its formation in March this year, the team has practiced every day without fail. All the team members, with the exception of one who practices stroke swing (as in golf), swing the stick center-style. The team's playing style is basically steady and relaxed.

 
 
Fighting Spirit Award (4th place)
 

A select team formed from the best players from all over Taiwan
Chinese Taipei A (TPE)

 

A talented lineup, including members of the team that won the 1996 2nd Asian GB Championships.
Xinzhu City Qiankun (TPE)

This is a Chinese Taipei representative team formed to win this tournament. The team consists of the top prizewinners in singles matches nationwide and contains many members who were in the team that came second in the 9th World GB Championships at Toyama in 2006.

 

The Hsinchu City selected team is a highly talented lineup of players including members from the team that won the 1996 2nd Asian GB Championships, and members from the team that took second place in the 1990 5th World Tournament.

     

1990 the 5th World GB Championships champions
Yilan Country Shenghu (TPE)

 

A thoroughly impressive women's team
Incheon A (KOR)

This team is made up of the employees of a paper manufacturing company in Yilan County, Taiwan. Many of the players are from the team that won the 1990 5th World GB Championships. The team currently includes members who are retired. These players can call on a variety of tactics to cope with any situation.

 
All players have outstanding touch capability and use the center-style swing.

Following the previous tournament, this is the second time this women's team has participated. The team has a proudly consistent record of winning prizes in domestic Korean tournaments. They are true to their basic strategy and do not miss a chance to carry out a Touch.



In the preliminary league matches, one to three local Chinese Taipei teams, which had practiced like demons, were deployed in each part, making it virtually impossible for the teams of other countries or regions to win. Moreover, because these were tournament matches to determine the teams to represent the courts, there were several clashes. So let's break down the 22 teams that participated in the final tournament matches. China, which had raged like a bull in the 3rd Asian GB championships in 2000, was completely subdued this time around, entering no teams at all.Hong Kong China and Korea entered one team each, Japan entered six teams, and the local Chinese Taipei side put up a strong showing with 14 teams.
In the third match, the Friend Sports Team played against Chinese Taipei A, the team selected to represent Chinese Taipei. In the closing stages, Captain Takaki Soyama performed remarkably, with a jumping double touch and several other feats, and the team clawed its way back to an eventual 13-9 win.

In the semifinals, Friend played against TaiDong country Haiduan Bunong. While Friend had been down 7-12 at the completion of the 4th round in the final stages, with a flurry of double play in the 5th round, Friend suddenly picked up another six points and came back from behind to win.
In another semifinal where local teams Changhua country Zhangxing and Yunlin County C were pitted against each other, Changhua country Zhangxing, which had been behind since the early stages, redeemed itself near the end to achieve a convincing 19-13 win.
In the championship, the Changhua country Zhangxing team, which went to bat first, was highly skilled in stroke swing(pendulum swing). However, in the first round, from the 1st red to the 7th, nervousness meant that the ball never went through the first gate. At the 9th red, an intentionally strong hit sent the ball over line 2, keeping all the members at the start. Friend, which had been having a tough time up to then, found itself for the first time with some room to breath. In the 2nd round, Friend used a double play attack to check Changhua country Zhangxing, which was pinned down beside line 2 near the second corner.A red ball a little distance from the line was hit off the lawn by a Friend player with the right to stroke twice. In the 4th and 5th rounds, Friend racked up points to finish with a clean sweep of 17-7. In this way, Friend carried on from the previous championships to reach its first V2 ever. Captain Soyama noted smilingly: “It's great that we won for Japan and for the team.”


 
 

Topics of the 5th Asian Gateball Championships in Taiwan
 

A crowd of 2,000, made up of competitors and others, came together for the huge night-before celebration and opening ceremony

On the evening of the 23rd, competitors, judges, and others gathered at the Leader Hotel Lukang where the festivities were held.

Cho Po-yuan, Commissioner of Changhua County, addressed the gathering.

 

A powerful players' declaration was delivered by three competitors representing Chinese Taipei.

The teams of four countries or regions put up a spirited performance even though failing to win any prizes.

 

Russia
Russia participated for the first time with one team from Sakhalin. The photograph shows popular little Lesnikov Vladislav Alekseevich (9), the youngest competitor at the tournament.

  Macau China

Following the previous tournament, this is only the second time China Macau has participated. Two teams, Macau gateball team and Taishan Wenkang Ziqiang team were present. The players were mostly aged in their 30's and 40's, and almost all used the center-style swing.

   
 

Hong Kong China
Five teams were present. The Xurishe district Sports club team went forward to the first match of the tournament finals. The photograph shows the Jinnan gateball team, which includes two members in their 20's.

  China
China sent 12 teams. While China cleaned up in the 3rd Asian GB Championships, this time all the China teams were knocked out in the preliminaries.
 
Taiwan junior players do remarkably well!

Taidong Chulai country school (TPE)

An elementary school Phnong team took third prize. All 26 pupils of the school practice every evening after school under lights. They have won the Taiwan Junior Tournament twice in a row.

Changhua country Jinchun(TPE)

This is a team of mainly high school students. Last summer, they took third place in the 1st Junior International Friendship Open Tournament held in Japan. This time, too, they made it through to the first

Miaoli country zuuangshe district (TPE)

The team contained three juniors who first encountered gateball three years ago in gateball classes for regional children. The team practiced every morning for this tournament for the month before it started.

 

The International Gateball Friendship Tournament was won by the Henan Nanyang team (CHN)!

 

The International Gateball Friendship Tournament was won by the Henan Nanyang team (CHN)!

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