Taipei: Taiwan successfully defended its women’s 540 kilogram title and achieved its first-ever men’s 640 kg title at the 2026 World Indoor Tug of War Championships held in Taipei on Sunday.

According to Focus Taiwan, in the women’s event, Taiwan’s eight-person squad advanced to the finals after a round-robin preliminary round and semifinals against teams from Ukraine, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Basque Country, and South Korea. In the finals, they defeated the Basque team 2-0. The team, primarily composed of students and graduates from National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU), celebrated their second consecutive championship and fourth in five years.

Team captain Lee Yi-chin shared insights into their preparation, noting that the team began training for the indoor championships after concluding the outdoor season last September. As a junior at NTNU, Lee described her intense training routine, which involved daily sessions from the end of her classes until 9 p.m., with only one day off per week. The schedule intensified in the two months leading up to the competition. Lee highlighted the team’s unity, describing their victory as a testament to the combination of strength and beauty inherent in tug of war.

In the men’s 640 kg event, Taiwan’s team remained undefeated throughout the preliminaries and went on to secure victories against the Netherlands and Italy in the semifinals and finals, respectively, clinching their first gold in this weight class.

Additionally, Taiwan secured gold medals in the mixed 580 kg, U23 men’s 600 kg, and U23 women’s 500 kg categories on Sunday. The championships concluded with Taiwan earning a total of 9 golds and one fourth-place finish.