SINGAPORE – Hours after arriving in Taiwan for the Asia Pacific Tchoukball Championships on July 9, Singapore men’s national team captain Isaac Tan and his teammates encountered an unexpected setback.
They learnt that the opening two days of the three-day tournament, initially scheduled to start on July 10, would be suspended due to Typhoon Bavi, confining the team to their hotel during that period.
While Bavi did not make landfall in Taiwan, the government took precautions to prevent loss of life amid forecasts of almost one metre of rain in some areas.
Nearly all cities and counties across Taiwan declared July 11 as a typhoon holiday, closing any offices and schools that may have been open on the weekend, though in Taipei some restaurants and convenience stores remained open.
Tan said: “When we heard the news, we were definitely very heartbroken because it was something that we’d trained for and we really anticipated.
“But what we did was we made sure we rested well, we ate well, our coach managed to arrange some short physical training sessions for us with whatever facilities there were, whether it was the gym or the staircase at the hotel.”
The players also kept their competitive spirit alive by playing badminton, volleyball and tennis on a Nintendo Switch, while the coaching team focused on tournament preparation by analysing videos of their opponents.
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