Host Chinese Taipei overpowered all comers on the first day of the World Games tchoukball tournament, with the men defeating world No. 1 Switzerland and the women taking an easy victory over highly regarded Great Britain. In one of the rare team sports in which Chinese Taipei has an honest chance at winning gold in an international tournament, the host smashed Switzerland 76-50, Singapore 71-36, and Canada 62-29. In the women's qualifiers, the home team beat Great Britain 65-29 and Switzerland 48-38. In a clear demonstration of Chinese Taipei's depth in the sport, the women's team was comprised of mostly teenagers making their debut in international competition. But that lack of seasoning did not hold them back, as they outperformed their opponents tactically. Chinese Taipei regularly confused the British with fake shots and deft passing, and took advantage of their smaller figures to gain a big edge in quickness. Michel Thomann, the director of the International Tchoukball Federation's technical commission, said he believed Chinese Taipei had a good chance of grabbing gold in the tournament. With the local side one of the world's best, the tchoukball competition attracted a big crowd. Fans lined up outside National Kaoshiung Normal University Gymnasium early in the morning to buy tickets. Chris Huang, general secretary of the Asian Tchoukball Federation said that the first 20 spectators to come to the game Saturday and the first 30 on Sunday will be admitted free of charge. Switzerland, Chinese Taipei, Great Britain, Canada, Singapore are competing in both the men's and women's draws and Macau was added to men's draw to replace Brazil, after the South Americans could not raise the money to make the trip. One of five invitational sports at the 2009 World Games, tchoukball advertises itself as having elements of basketball, volleyball, handball and jai alai, but handball probably has the closest setup to tchoukball. Instead of the two goals, there are two upright square trampoline frames with semi-circles in front of them. Like handball, players throw passes to each other to gain momentum as they jump inside the 3-meter radius semi-circle. But instead of firing the ball on goal, they throw it at the trampoline, trying to make the ball rebound back outside the semi-circle where their opponents cannot catch it. Tchoukball prides itself on being a non-contact sport -- the attackers are not challenged or covered by defensive players -- as it promotes the concept of harmony and respect. 