On Wednesday—the sixth day of competition—athletes will compete in twelve sports, with 21 gold medals up for grabs at The World Games 2025 in Chengdu, China. Fans around the globe can follow the action live at Live.theworldgames.org.
Some things will be familiar on Wednesday, while others are making their debut.
New to the official Games programme is the martial art SAMBO. Previously included as an invitation sport in Lahti 1997, Sambo will now award official TWG gold for the first time—four times over. Medal bouts begin at 6:00 p.m. local time at the Jianyang Cultural and Sports Centre Gymnasium.
As always, the Floorball finals will see Sweden and Finland face off—this time at 3:00 p.m. in the Xindu Xiangcheng Sports Centre. Sweden has won the men’s title in both Wrocław 2017 and Birmingham 2022, and with nine consecutive world championship titles, they enter as favourites.
At 6:00 p.m., the women’s champion will also be decided— Sweden or Finland, of course. While Sweden is slightly favoured, Finland is the reigning world champion after defeating Sweden 4–3 in last year’s World Championship final. These matches will close the longest-running competition of the Games, which began a day before the opening ceremony.
In Fistball, there’s a twist: Germany’s women will play for bronze (against Austria) for the first time in recent history. Brazil and Switzerland will battle for gold at 3:30 p.m. The German men, as expected, have reached the final; they’ve claimed every TWG gold since 2013. Brazil, champion in 2009, will attempt to end the streak at 5:30 p.m. in Tianfu Park.
In Carom Three Cushion Billiards, a Dutch athlete is once again in the medal matches—but for the first time since 2001, it’s not Dick Jaspers. The 60-year-old, who has medalled at every TWG edition since Akita, was eliminated in the preliminaries. Instead, Therese Klompenhouwer, 42, will represent the Netherlands at 1:30 p.m. in the gold medal match against Japan’s Ayaka Miyashita. This marks the debut of women’s carom at TWG, and the seven-time world champion finally gets her chance.
Billiards is usually a civil affair—complete with suits and finger snaps instead of applause—but Wednesday may be an exception. China’s Bai Yulu plays for the Women’s Six Red Snooker title at 11:30 a.m. against Thailand’s Narucha Phoemphul. Expect a lively home crowd. China could also appear in the Women’s Pool final: Liu Shasha will play her semi-final on Wednesday morning, with the gold medal match set for 7:00 p.m.
In Racquetball, Mexico’s Paola Longoria remains a dominant force. With 375,000 Instagram followers and three TWG gold medals (2005, 2013, 2022), she could become the first woman to win four consecutive titles. The tournament begins at 10:00 a.m. at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Centre Public Fitness Gymnasium.
Parkour will see a familiar rivalry continue. Introduced at TWG 2022, the women’s speed discipline saw Sweden’s Miranda Tibbling beat the Netherlands’ Noa(h) Man, with the roles reversed in freestyle. On Tuesday, Tibbling again topped the speed rankings. On Wednesday at 4:40 p.m. (men’s final at 5:30 p.m.), the two meet in freestyle—could we see a new champion?
Elsewhere:
- Archery returns after a three-day medal break, with recurve finals starting at 1:00 p.m. in Qinglong Lake Park.
- Speed Skating Road crowns four champions from 8:00 a.m. at Shuyue Park.
- Canoe Polo begins for men and women at 1:00 p.m. in Jianyang Cultural and Sports Centre Natatorium.
- Kickboxing semi-finals start at 6:00 p.m. in Sichuan Gymnasium.
- Softball Women’s pool matches begin at 10:00 a.m. in Xindu Better City Softball Arena, with Chinese Taipei facing defending champion USA.
- Flying Disc pool play continues from 10:00 a.m. at Chengdu Sport University Sancha Lake Campus Athletics Field.