Nations will compete for nine Chengdu 2025 World Games quotas as the 2024 International Canoe Federation Dragon Boat World Championships begin on Thursday in Puerto Princesa, Philippines.
Athletes from 24 nations will battle it out in the coastal city of Palawan Island, making it the biggest Dragon Boat World Championships in ICF history.
Participating nations include Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Czechia, Spain, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Indonesia, India, Iran, Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, Poland, Singapore, Sweden, Thailand, Chinese Taipei, Ukraine, United States, the Philippines and AIN.
Sixteen countries at the 2016 edition in Moscow was the largest turnout for the flagship event before this.
The 2024 edition is also the first ICF Dragon Boat World Championships to be held in Southeast Asia.
Hosts Philippines have truly embraced the opportunity with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declaring the fourth week of October of every year as “Moving Forward Paddling Week Philippines.”
The initiative aims to promote the Philippines as a “premier paddling destination and to encourage its adoption as a sport and leisure activity”.
Thailand and Indonesia have already secured qualification for The World Games next year at the ICF Dragon Boat World Cup held in Yichang, China, last week.
However, with nine quota spots remaining and one reserved for host nation China, fierce competition is expected over the next few days.
To win a spot at The World Games, a team must compete in the mixed team 200m, 500m, and 2000m events in a 10-seater boat.
The nine teams with the highest overall points across all three events will seal their place at The World Games.
Action at the Puerto Princesa Baywalk will also see junior, masters over 40 and masters over 50 category paddlers vie for world titles.
The main challenge for the athletes in Puerto Princesa will be to race in salt water, where buoyancy will be greater than in flatwater.
Spanish team leader Emiliano Alonso Grande and Chinese Taipei team leader Hou Hung-Chang among others highlighted that it will be tricky but with high stakes, they are ready to give it their all.
“The conditions are challenging. We will give it our best. Qualification for The World Games is the main target. But we hope to get at least a silver medal or better, which is our result from two years ago,” Hung-Chang said.
“We are used to training in flatwater so it will be difficult. Sealing a ticket to Chengdu is the priority. I hope we surprise ourselves with a medal,” Grande added.
The competition starts on Thursday with races in the 2000m and 200m.
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