Singapore women's tchoukball team makes history: Here's all you need to know about Tchoukball rules & origin

Tchoukball Game: On January 1, 2023, the Singapore Women's Tchoukball team moved to world rank number one, according to International Tchoukball Federation (FITB). They ranked number one after their success in the Asia Pacific Tchoukball Championships, held in Malaysia in August 2022. Moreover, Singapore Men's Tchoukball team is in the Top 3 after Taiwan and Italy. Tchoukball is a relatively obscure sport where the teams try to hit a trampoline target with a ball. Surprisingly, no one from the Singapore players or officials knew about their achievements for about a month. The President of the Tchoukball Association of Singapore discovered it when he saw a post on ITF's Facebook page on January 27, 2023.

Singapore's recent ascent serves as a confidence booster for the national teams. The World Tchoukball Championships are in Prague from July 31 to August 5. The Singapore Tchoukball teams hope their achievement helps them spread awareness about the Choukball sport. Singapore will host the 6th World Youth TChoukball Championships from July 13 to 16, 2023.

Here's everything you need to know about the Tchoukball game, its origin, history and rules.

Tchoukball: History & Origin

The origins of Tchoukball lie in Switzerland. Hermann Brandt, a Swiss biologist, invented the game of Tchoukball in the 1970s to reduce the risk of injuries during sports and make it more inclusive. A prime moment in the history of Tchoukball was the inauguration of the International Tchoukball Federation in 1971 in Switzerland. As of March 2022, there are 69 countries associated with the FITB.

Tchoukball: Rules & Regulations

Since tchoukball comes under the category of demonstration sports, people often ask what tchoukball is and how someone plays the game.

The indoor court of Tchoukball is 27 metres by 16 metres. There is a rebounder at each end of the court, similar to a trampoline through which the ball bounces back. The dimensions of the rebounder are one square metre and a semicircular D-shaped forbidden zone of three metres radius.

Each team has 12 players and can score at both ends. In tchoukball, the attacking player must throw the ball in a way that it hits the rebounder and bounces outside the D without being caught by the defending team.

A unique rule about Tchoukball is the prohibition of physical contact. Defenders are not allowed to intercept the attacking team's passes.