Team SA’s athletes were involved in three sports on Saturday at The World Games in Chengdu, China. In men’s short distance K1 canoeing, Olympian Hamish Lovemore was the fastest qualifier heading into the final where he was involved in a titanic struggle with two-time world canoe sprint champion Mads Brandt Pedersen. He was just 0.15 seconds behind the Dane at the finish, to win Team SA’s first medal of the Games.
In squash, Hayley Ward was beaten in the Last 16 of the women’s singles.
CANOEING
Men’s K1 Short Distance, heats: Hamish Lovemore won his 10-man heat by over a second in 14:34.75 to qualify fastest for the final
SILVER! Men’s K1 Short Distance, final: Hamish Lovemore pushed double world champion Mads Brandt Pedersen all the way, Pedersen won in 13:45.46m with Lovemore second in 13:45.61
Women’s K1 Short Distance, heats: Saskia Hockly finished 10th in her heat in 17:28.48 and did not progress to the final
MUAYTHAI
Men’s -86kg, semi-finals (2.45pm SA time): Damian Collins vs Aaron Ortiz of the United States
SQUASH
Men’s singles, Round of 16 (1pm SA time): Dewald van Niekerk vs Dmytro Shcherbakov of Ukraine
Women’s singles, Round of 16: Hayley Ward lost to Ho Tze Lok of Hong Kong 3-1 (11-3, 11-2, 9-11, 11-6)
This is the ninth The World Games attended by Team SA, with the first being in 1993 in The Hague, Netherlands. Across those eight previous Games, Team SA has won 20 medals, with the most (six) at the 1997 The World Games in Lahti, Finland.
Team SA’s squad in Chengdu and how they fared is:
ARCHERY
Hendre Verhoef reached the Last 16 of Men’s Compound
Septimus Cilliers reached the Last 32 of Men’s Compound
Jeanine Van Kradenburg reached the Last 32 of Women’s Compound
CANOEING
Hamish Lovemore won the SILVER medal in the Men’s K1 Short Distance
Saskia Hockly was eliminated in the heats of the Women’s K1 Short Distance
KICKBOXING (5)
Men: Ahmad Mahomed, Matthew Gething, Muhammad Mia
Women: Leanne Van der Mescht, Saentone Louw
MUAYTHAI
Damian Collins reached the semi-finals of the -86kg division
ORIENTEERING
Sarah Wimberley finished 29th in the Women’s Middle Distance final
POWERLIFTING (2)
Men: Harold Pietersen
Women: Megan Faul
SPORT CLIMBING (4)
Men: Joshua Bruyns, John-David Muller
Women: Aniya Holder, Tegwen Oates
SQUASH
Dewald van Niekerk reached the Last 16 of the men’s singles
Hayley Ward reached the Last 16 of the women’s singles
Follow the action from The World Games 2025 on Team South Africa’s website and social media platforms.
The World Games are streamed live on www.discoversport.com/live
