After staking future on teqball, Lee Jun-suk smashes way to Asian Games gold

NAGOYA, Japan — The first-ever Asian Games gold medal in men’s singles teqball went to Korea’s Lee Jun-suk, the oldest member of the national team.

The 27-year-old defeated Iraq’s Ali Jalil Mezher Alelayawi 2-0 with scores of 12-11 and 12-5 in the men’s singles final at the Higashi Sports Center in Nagoya, Japan, on Sunday. It was Korea’s third gold medal of the Games.

Lee battled Alelayawi in a tightly contested first set. He fell behind early but fought back to tie the score at 11-11. Teqball sets are played to 12 points with no deuce, meaning a player does not need to win by two points. Lee returned his opponent’s serve before scoring with his right foot to take the opening set.

He carried the momentum into the second set, unleashing a series of powerful attacks to take control. Errors from his opponent helped Lee build a 9-2 lead. After a long rally put him ahead 10-3, Lee roared in celebration as if sensing victory was within reach.

Lee reached match point and sealed the victory with an impressive attack.

After securing the gold medal, Lee fought back tears as he shouted, “Mom.”

Teqball, created in Hungary in 2014, combines elements of table tennis and a foot-based style of play reminiscent of jokgu, a Korean sport similar to foot volleyball. Players exchange a ball across a curved table without using their hands or arms, as in football, and must return the ball to the opponent within three touches.

Players cannot use the same body part for consecutive touches, while doubles teams must make at least one pass between teammates before returning the ball. The sport combines acrobatic moves with fast-paced action. Strategy also comes into play in deciding when to use a powerful smash, which sends the ball forcefully beyond the table and is limited to twice per game.

Teqball made its Asian Games debut as an official medal sport this year.

All of Korea’s national team members are amateurs, and fewer than 20 athletes competed in the national trials. All three male players put their regular jobs on hold to prepare for the Games. Lee Jun-suk, Lee Tae-been and Kim Eun-jun came from football backgrounds, while Jang Eun-seo, the team’s only female athlete, previously competed in sepak takraw. Some of the athletes have also played for professional jokgu teams.

“I think we are paving a good path for teqball in Korea,” Lee Jun-suk said.

The gold medalist played football until he was 21, including in the K4 League, before taking up jokgu and eventually discovering teqball. With no professional teqball teams in Korea, he worked in manufacturing at a major company while training on the side. Once teqball was added to the Asian Games, however, he decided to stake his future on the sport.

He paid out of pocket to train in Hungary and even gave up the chance of a permanent employment contract.

As the Korea Teqball Association is not a full member of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, the national team could not train at the Jincheon National Training Center and instead rented facilities for practice.

The athletes also had to arrange their own meals outside after finding the lunches provided by the organizing committee inadequate and stayed in a cramped business hotel where there was barely enough space even for massages. They pressed on with one goal in mind — and Lee Jun-suk ultimately turned that pursuit into a gold medal.

BY KIM HYO-KYOUNG [[email protected]]