Published：2009-07-18
Disciplines：Ball Sports>Fistball
Country： TPE(Chinese Taipei) 、 SUI(Switzerland) 、 CHI(Chile) 、 AUT(Austria)
Title：Drama builds in fistball qualifiers
FullStory：
(KOC-CNA July 16, Kaohsiung) Brazil is in and Taiwan is out, but little else has been decided in the preliminary round of the fistball competition at the World Games in Kaohsiung with only one round robin match left for the six teams in the event.Only four teams qualify for the semifinal round, meaning one of the four teams deadlocked with a 2-2 record -- Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Chile -- will join host Taiwan (Chinese Taipei) in being ousted from medal contention Sunday.The triumphant Brazilians, who have established themselves as the class of the tournament so far, struggled past Germany 11-5, 11-8, 8-11, 11-8 in their first match Saturday but easily dispatched Austria 11-6, 11-7, 11-9 to improve their record to 4-0.After losing to Brazil, Germany was on the brink of elimination with a 1-2 record, but revived its chances of competing for a medal with a 10-12, 11-4, 11-6, 11-7 against the Swiss in the second-to-last match of the day.In Sunday's final preliminary matches, Brazil plays Chile, Austria faces Germany, and Switzerland opposes Taiwan.The host remained winless in the event after losing in straight sets to both Austria and Chile.Fistball, an ancient sport dating back to 240 A.D., combines characteristics from tennis and volleyball and is played on a 20-meter by 50-meter court.Five-man teams have to use their hands or arms to hit the ball over a two-meter high net to parts of the court where their opponents cannot return it.As in volleyball, one team can only touch the ball three times before hitting it to the other side, but, as in tennis, the ball can bounce once before each touch.
(KOC-CNA story by Chen Chun-yen)
Quem sou eu
MegaContador
