Taiwan’s two-athlete team bagged two gold, five silver, and one bronze medals in the IUKL Kettlebell Sport World Championship 2022, which was held from Oct. 28-30 in New Delhi, India.
Hu Chia-wei (胡家維) finished second in the 78-kilogram weight class category to claim four silvers, including one medal each for snatch, jerk, and long cycle, officials at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center (TECC) in New Delhi said Monday.
Meanwhile, Tseng Yung-lin (曾詠麟) was awarded four medals, having finished first in the 95kg weight class, clinching a bronze for the long cycle, one silver for the jerk, and one gold for the snatch, according to the TECC, Taiwan’s representative office in New Delhi.
Tseng, who is also the chairman of the Taiwan Kettlebell Sport Association, said the tournament in India was the first of its kind since COVID-19 restrictions were relaxed in many parts of the world.
He said he felt there was renewed interest in the sport compared to last year’s tournament in Hungary.
According to Peters Chen (陳立穎), head of the TECC’s education division, kettlebell dates back to the 17th century, when it was popular in Eastern Europe.
A kettlebell is a cast-iron or cast-steel ball with a handle attached to the top and competition is similar to weightlifting with different moves and classes.
Taiwan started promoting the sport domestically in 2016 before it went on to compete and win three gold, two silver, and two bronze medals in the world championships in Ireland in 2019 and one silver medal at the 2021 event in Hungary, Chen said.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel