Seven players from London korfball clubs helped Great Britain to fifth place in the World Games in Cali, Colombia, last week.

Davesh Patel and Andrew Hall from Tooting-based Bec and Steph Allen, Neala Brennan, Amy Turner, David Brooks and Tony Woodvine from Croydon-based Trojans were all in action.

The Netherlands, where the mixed team sport that is a mixture of basketball and netball was invented in 1902, took the overall title by beating Belgium 25-19 in the final.

Britain started the tournament in a group with the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Portugal but began with a frustrating defeat against the Czechs, losing 18-17 despite eight goals from Patel having put them 17-12 ahead.

Great Britain coach Dave Buckland selected a much-changed team for the second group match against the Netherlands. It was always going to be a tough game and, despite six goals from Hall and five from Brooks, the Dutch ran out comfortable 39-19 winners.

Portugal had beaten the Czechs so Britain could still qualify for the top four with victory against the Portuguese in their final group game but it was not to be, as a strong second half saw Portugal run out 20-17 winners, with Turner contributing three goals to Britain’s total.

Despite finishing bottom of the group, Britain went into the play-offs for places five to eight and won a dramatic match against Germany that ended in a 17-16 victory thanks to a missed penalty by the Germans and a last-minute winner from Woodvine.  

In the fifth-place play-off, Britain faced Russia and stepped up the pace in the final 20 minutes to win 19-14 and seal fifth as Patel contributed another five goals.