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Chinese Taipei Triumph in Thrilling Final to Win Beach Korfball Gold at The World Games 2025

The Beach Korfball competition at The World Games 2025 came to a thrilling conclusion today at the Xinglong Lake Beach Arena, as Chinese Taipei claimed the Gold medal with a dramatic last-second victory over the Netherlands.

Gold Medal – Chinese Taipei

In a gripping final, the Netherlands – favourites after their dominant performances in the group stage and semi-finals – looked set to add another title to their record. But with the scores tied in the dying seconds, Ying-Ting HUANG struck from distance for two points, sealing an unforgettable 8-6 win and sparking wild celebrations from the Chinese Taipei players and fans alike.

HUANG has been the standout star of the tournament, also scoring the decisive golden goal in the semi-final against Belgium that sent Chinese Taipei into the final. To then repeat the feat on the biggest stage of all, and against one of the sport’s most successful nations, will go down as one of the iconic moments in Beach Korfball history.

Silver Medal – The Netherlands

In the Bronze medal match, Belgium defeated Hungary 10-5 to secure their place on the podium, bouncing back strongly after their narrow semi-final loss to Chinese Taipei.

Bronze Medal – Belgium

The Beach Korfball competition at The World Games 2025 has provided three days of world-class action, showcasing athleticism, teamwork, and drama in abundance. From buzzer-beaters to golden goals, the event has once again underlined the excitement and global growth of the sport.

👉 More coverage, photos, and highlights from the medal matches will follow soon on korfball.sport and IKF social media channels.

Image gallery  📷 Gertrude de Vries

 

Beach Korfball The World Games 2025 – Final Day Arrives

Morning Session Complete

he Beach Korfball finals at the Xinglong Lake Beach Arena are heating up, and the stakes couldn’t be higher. This morning’s semi-final showdowns are now in the books, and the pathway to the podium is shaping up with intense, edge-of-your-seat action.

Morning Results:

As a result:

  • Final (Gold Medal Match) will be Netherlands vs Chinese Taipei.
  • Bronze Medal Match will feature Hungary vs Belgium.
  • 5th Place Play-Off: China vs Poland.
  • 7th Place Play-Off: USA vs Australia.

What’s Next:

The afternoon holds the placement battles that will determine the final standings—from 8th place all the way up to the gold medal match.

 

Final Day Arrives

Sunday, 17 August 2025 – After two intense days of thrilling action at the Xinglong Lake Beach Arena, the Beach Korfball competition at The World Games 2025 has reached its final day. Today, the medals will be decided.

The morning session will feature the eagerly anticipated semi-finals, before the afternoon session deliver the placing matches, culminating in the battle for bronze and the all-important gold medal final.

Fans around the world can look forward to a dramatic conclusion to what has already been an unforgettable showcase of beach korfball, filled with high-level skill, athleticism, and passion.

Quarter Final Action Recap

The quarter finals delivered drama, excitement, and plenty of highlights as teams fought for their place in today’s semi-finals.

Netherlands vs USA

The Netherlands came out strong, opening with an early two-pointer to take a 2-0 lead. The USA quickly responded, levelling the score at 2-2 with over four minutes to play in the first quarter. The Dutch struck twice to regain the advantage at 4-2, before a fast break pushed the gap to 5-2. A penalty just before the whistle saw the Netherlands close the first quarter ahead 6-2.

Momentum stayed with the Dutch in the second quarter. A running-in shot extended their lead to 7-2, and soon they were in full control at 10-2 with four minutes left. Both sides thrilled the crowd by trading long-range two-pointers, but the Netherlands remained firmly in command and sealed a 13-8 victory to advance to the semi-finals.

Chinese Taipei vs Australia

Chinese Taipei opened the scoring with a penalty to lead 1-0, before Australia equalised at 1-1 with four minutes to play in the first quarter. A medium shot restored Chinese Taipei’s advantage at 2-1, but Australia quickly tied it again at 2-2.

A sharp two-pointer pushed Chinese Taipei ahead 4-2, and another long-range strike made it 5-2. Australia answered with a two-pointer of their own to close the gap to 5-4, but a fast break soon had Chinese Taipei 6-4 ahead. A late Australian penalty kept it close at 6-5 at the end of the quarter.

Chinese Taipei started the second period strongly with a two-pointer to extend their lead to 8-5, and with four minutes remaining they were in full control at 10-5. Although both sides continued to trade goals in the closing stages, Chinese Taipei held firm to claim a 15-11 victory and secure their place in the semi-finals.

China vs Belgium

China struck first with a cut-in shot to lead 1-0 with five minutes to play in the opening quarter. Both sides then went scoreless until Belgium equalised with a tough finish to make it 1-1, before adding another to edge ahead 1-2 at the first break.

Belgium came out firing in the second quarter, landing a two-pointer to extend their lead to 1-4, followed quickly by a medium shot for 1-5 with over four minutes left. China could only manage one more goal as Belgium dominated both ends of the pitch, closing out a commanding 2-13 victory to book their semi-final place.

Hungary vs Poland

Both teams traded early goals to make it 1-1 with over four minutes to play in a tense battle for a semi-final spot. Poland edged ahead with a medium shot for 1-2, but Hungary quickly equalised 2-2. After Hungary missed a penalty, Poland capitalised on the rebound to lead 2-3 at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter opened with both sides exchanging two-pointers, with Hungary holding a narrow 6-5 advantage. Poland replied with a cut-in to level 6-6, then converted a penalty to move ahead 6-7 with just over a minute remaining. In the final moments, Hungary struck a dramatic buzzer-beater two-pointer from the corner to snatch an 8-7 victory and send their supporters into wild celebrations.

Semi-Finals Line-Up

The stage is now set for today’s decisive matches. First up on Day 3 are the semi-finals:

  • SF3 (10:00) – USA vs Poland
  • SF4 (10:20) – China vs USA
  • SF1 (10:40) – Netherlands vs Hungary
  • SF2 (11:00) – Chinese Taipei vs Belgium

With a place in the medal matches on the line, the action promises to be fast, fierce, and full of drama.

Beach Korfball at The World Games – Day 1 Recap & Day 2 Preview

Day 2 Update

The second day of Beach Korfball action at The World Games 2025 is well underway at Xinglong Lake Beach Arena in Chengdu, China — and the excitement is building as the quarter-finalists are now confirmed!

Morning Session Results – Saturday, 16 August
  • POL 5–16 NED
  • TPE 7–4 HUN
  • CHN 18–6 USA
  • BEL 15–3 AUS

These results complete the group stage and lock in the teams advancing to the Quarter-Finals this evening.

Quarter-Final Line-Up
  • QF1: NED vs USA
  • QF2: TPE vs AUS
  • QF3: CHN vs BEL
  • QF4: HUN vs POL

The winners of tonight’s quarter-finals will move on to tomorrow afternoon’s semi-finals, while the defeated teams will continue into placement matches.

The Road Ahead

With the semi-finals just around the corner, we’re approaching the business end of the competition. The top teams are hitting peak form, and the intensity on the sand is rising with every match. Who will make it through to the final four and keep their gold medal dreams alive?

Stay tuned and follow all the action live on The World Games website and apps!

Day 1 Recap & Day 2 Preview

Beach Korfball has arrived at The World Games 2025 in Chengdu, and the opening day at Xinglong Lake Beach Arena gave fans plenty to enjoy. Fast matches, spectacular goals, and lots of drama made the debut of the sport at The World Games one to remember.

What happened on Day 1

The Netherlands showed why they are favourites, beating Australia 18-0 before winning a key match against Belgium 11-4.

Belgium had earlier produced one of the standout results of the day, defeating Poland 16-6. The margin came as a surprise to many, given Poland’s experience and the fact they were World Beach Korfball Champions in 2022. That win leaves Belgium in a strong position going into the second day.

In Group B, Chinese Taipei looked sharp from the start. They defeated the USA 8-5 and then comfortably beat hosts China 14-3 to finish the day unbeaten. The USA recovered from their opening loss by edging Hungary 8-7 in one of the closest games of the day.

Hungary picked up their first win against China, who had the support of the home crowd but couldn’t find a breakthrough.

Day 1 standings

Group A
  • Netherlands – 2 wins, 0 losses – 6 points
  • Belgium – 1 win, 1 loss – 3 points
  • Poland – 1 win, 1 loss – 3 points
  • Australia – 0 wins, 2 losses – 0 points

 

Group B
  • Chinese Taipei – 2 wins, 0 losses – 6 points
  • Hungary – 1 win, 1 loss – 4 points
  • USA – 1 win, 1 loss – 2 points
  • China – 0 wins, 2 losses – 0 points

What’s next on Day 2

Saturday will decide who reaches the semi-finals. Big games include Poland vs Netherlands and Chinese Taipei vs Hungary, before the evening quarter-finals. With the medal matches tomorrow, every point today will matter.

Follow the action

Fans can follow everything on our social media channels, where we share match recaps, interviews, highlights and the best goals of the day.

All games are streamed live and free at live.theworldgames.org and on The World Games Live app, available on both iOS and Android.

Check back later today for the evening results and the full picture heading into finals day.

Day 1 Image gallery  📷 Gertrude de Vries

Beach Korfball Set for Historic Debut at The World Games in Chengdu

Tomorrow, Beach Korfball will make its first-ever appearance at The World Games. For the next three days, the Xinglong Lake Beach Arena in Chengdu, China, will host fast-paced matches, dramatic finishes, and the crowning of the very first Beach Korfball World Games champions.

This is a special moment for the sport. Korfball has been part of The World Games since 1985, but 2025 marks the debut of the beach format on this stage. The shorter games, quick changes of possession, and spectacular goals promise to bring a new kind of excitement to fans both in the arena and watching around the world.

Two Days of Pool Action

The competition starts with two full days of pool matches. Ten national teams are divided into two groups:

Group A

🇵🇱 Poland
🇳🇱 Netherlands
🇧🇪 Belgium
🇦🇺 Australia

Group B

🇹🇼 Chinese Taipei
🇭🇺 Hungary
🇺🇸 United States
🇨🇳 China

Day one begins at 14:30 local time with Poland vs Belgium, followed by matches featuring every team. The evening session will see more big clashes, including the Netherlands against Belgium and China against Chinese Taipei.

Day two will complete the group stage before moving into the quarter-finals.

Finals on Sunday

The medal matches will take place on Sunday, 17 August. The final is scheduled for 13:20 local time, when the first Beach Korfball World Games champions will be crowned.

Follow the Action

Fans can follow every match live on The World Games website and app. Whether you are watching from the stands in Chengdu or from home, this is your chance to witness history in the making.

 

Countdown to TWG 2025: Korfball and Beach Korfball Draws

With less than 50 days to go until the opening of The World Games 2025 in Chengdu, China, anticipation is building for the 12th edition of the games. This evening, we hosted the live draws to determine the group stage matchups for both the Korfball and the debuting Beach Korfball competitions. 

Watch the Live Draws

Korfball Draw – Thursday 19 June 2025 20:00 CEST

Beach Korfball Draw – Thursday 19 June 20:30 CEST

The live draws determine the groupings for both competitions.

Live Draw Results

Korfball – Group Stage Draw:
    • Group A: Netherlands, Chinese Taipei, Portugal, and China
    • Group B: Belgium, Germany, Czechia, and Suriname
Beach Korfball – Group Stage Draw: 
    • Group A: Poland, Netherlands, Belgium, and Australia 
    • Group B: Chinese Taipei, Hungary, United States, and China 

What are The World Games?

The World Games is a multi-sport event held every four years, showcasing sports and disciplines not currently featured in the Olympic Games. Organised by the International World Games Association (IWGA) with the support of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the event brings together over 4,000 elite athletes from 117 countries, competing across 34 sports and 60 disciplines. The 12th edition of The World Games will take place from 7th to 17th August 2025 in Chengdu, China, across 28 world-class venues.

Korfball at The World Games 2025

The korfball competition will take place from 8th to 12th August at the Longquan High School Gymnasium.

Eight teams from four continents, who earned their places through the IKF World Korfball Championship 2023, will compete: Suriname, Portugal, Czechia, Germany, Chinese Taipei, Belgium, The Netherlands, and hosts China.

Beach Korfball Makes Its Debut

For the first time in World Games history, Beach Korfball will be featured as an official discipline. The beach competition will take place from 15th to 17th August at Xinglong Lake and promises fast-paced and high-energy action in a superb beach arena.

The eight qualified teams are: Australia, United States, Belgium, Hungary, The Netherlands, Chinese Taipei, Poland and hosts China.

This inclusion marks a major milestone for Beach Korfball, reflecting its rapid growth and global appeal.

 

Stay tuned to our social networks and follow #TWG2025 #WeAreTheWorldGames #RoadToChengdu for full coverage, behind-the-scenes content, and updates as we count down to Chengdu!

Road to Chengdu begins! IKF World Beach Korfball Championship 2024: Groups Draw completed!

The group stage is set for the IKF World Beach Korfball Championship 2024 following the Group Draw that took place this evening (Monday, April 15, 2024) broadcasted on YouTube.com/ikfchannel.

Eighteen teams were drawn into three groups, with some interesting matchups emerging based on the latest beach world rankings. 

The Korfball Association of Thailand will host the World Korfball Beach Championships from 26 to 28 April 2024 in Pattaya City, which is also a qualifier event for The World Games 2025 in Chengdu, China.

Group A features the current world number one ranked team, Poland, who will face off against Portugal (ranked 6th), India (7th), Australia (10th), Scotland (19th) and Czechia (23rd). 

Group B is headlined by second-ranked Belgium, who will take on Hungary (ranked 5th), Hong Kong China (8th), Japan (18th), Singapore (20th) and China (23rd).  

Finally, Group C includes USA (ranked 3rd), the Netherlands (4th), Chinese Taipei (9th), Thailand (12th), Malaysia (21st) and Macau China (ranked 23rd). 

Pattaya was a very successful host of a Beach World Cup in 2022, and this allows the local federation to build on this success as a benchmark for international beach korfball competitions.

Exciting times ahead for Beach Korfball 

Further, following the inclusion of korfball in the program of the next edition of The World Games in Chengdu (CHN), the IKF announced that the international beach korfball calendar will be expanded substantially. In 2024, in addition to the World Beach Korfball Championships, two World Cups will be scheduled, one in Europe, likely in August, and a second one in Asia, likely in December. This aligns with the vision of the IKF Council to create a year-round global calendar for beach korfball events.

 

Further, the IKF announced the qualification regulations for the beach korfball tournament at TWG 2025. The champion of the WBKC will directly qualify for TWG, and TWG host China will have the opportunity to directly qualify at the WBKC, provided they finish in the top-10 of the event. The further 6 or 7 spots (a total of 8 countries/teams can take part in TWG Beach Korfball tournament) will be determined on the newly launched IKF World Beach Korfball Ranking, ensuring both global representation across at least four continents and sufficient competitiveness by ensuring all participants are within the top-12 of the World Ranking as per 31 December 2023.

IKF Beach Korfball World Ranking

IKF Beach Korfball Ranking Criterita, click here.

TWG 2025 Qualification Criteria Beach Korfball, click here.

Where to follow

All fans around the world will be able to watch and follow this tournament live on youtube.com/ikfchannel and on www.worldkorfball.sport (with live results and live streams, statistics, scorers, play-by-play …), as well as on social media on @IKFAsia and @BeachKorfball profiles and the hashtag #WBKC2024, #beachkorfball and #korfball, with the best image galleries, clips and highlights.

IKF Beach Korfbal profiles:

► instagram.com/beachkorfball
► facebook.com/beachkorfball
► twitter.com/beachkorfball
► tiktok.com/@beachkorfball

IKF Asia profiles:

► facebook.com/IKFasia
► instagram.com/IKFasia
► twitter.com/AsiaIKF

You can find all this content and much more visiting the following official IKF profiles (see below):

► instagram.com/korfball_org
► facebook.com/korfball.org
► twitter.com/korfball
► tiktok.com/@korfball.sport