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* Teqball awards first gold medals on Asian Games debut * Thai athletes claim three of five titles * Hungarian-invented sport has Olympic ambitions With Spanish soccer great Carles Puyol on board and a growing fan base in Asia, teqball’s ambitious global federation is confident that the sport’s quirky hybrid of soccer and table tennis will one day muscle its way on to the Olympic programme. Teqball took a small but firm step toward legitimacy on Sunday when it awarded its first Asian Games medals on its debut at the multi-sport event in Nagoya, with Thai athletes claiming three of the five titles. With capacity for only a few hundred fans, the Higashi Sports Centre was hardly Wembley Stadium but the crowd were impressed by the athletes’ skill as they hoofed the ball back and forth across the sport’s signature curved table. “It’s an amazing milestone on our journey because the teq world community globally is dreaming of becoming an Olympic sport one day,” International Teqball Federation (ITF) general secretary Laszlo Vajda told Reuters at the venue. “I’m very confident actually that our debut as a medal sport at the Asian Games will be such an event that the IOC (International Olympic Committee) will recognise that yes, the sport, the venue, the engagement, the reach, the relevance to young people, the attraction and all that is in place.” HUNGARIAN ROOTSTeqball has roots in a training exercise during the golden era of Hungarian soccer in the mid-20th century when players practised “foot-tennis” across a net with a leather ball. The modern game has come a long way in a short time. It was conceived a little over a decade ago by two Hungarian friends, a former professional soccer player and a computer scientist, who played around with a soccer ball on a ping pong table. After refining the table’s curve, the duo teamed up with a Hungarian businessman and set about popularising the sport. The ITF was set up in 2017 and has staged several world championships. For the uninitiated, the sport might appear a bit zany but it is in good company on an Asian Games programme laden with off-beat disciplines such as virtual taekwondo and esports. Many of them, like teqball, dream of a spot on the Olympics, which means legitimacy, funding and the chance to grow a global fan base. Teqball is still early on that journey and has been building its social media profile with the help of former soccer names such as ex-Barcelona captain Puyol, who played 100 times for Spain. Before the Asian Games competition on Sunday, Puyol had a kick-around with a procession of Asian influencers after a clinic with students at a nearby university. There were no ticket-paying fans watching — it was all for the social media numbers. TOP FOOTBALL CLUBS HAVE USED TEQBALL TABLES IN TRAINING A number of top soccer teams, including Manchester United, Paris St Germain and Barcelona, have used teqball tables at their training grounds. “I think it helps professional players improve technically, and also for warming up,” Puyol told Reuters at the competition venue. “As a sport, it’s growing a lot in many countries. I think the more people play it, the more it will grow, because it’s a really fun game and I see it having a big future.” Encouragingly for the sport’s Olympic dreams, Asian nations have been enthusiastic adopters. Teqball has similarities to sepak takraw, the popular Southeast Asian sport, which has players volleying a ball on a badminton-style court. With Thailand a sepak takraw super-power, the nation has relished the chance for more Asian Games gold as a teqball tyrant. But it was no Southeast Asian shutout — the spread of Asian Games medallists spanned the continent from Kuwait to Japan. “I am so happy I could die right now,” said South Korea’s Lee Jun-suk after beating his Iraqi opponent for the men’s singles gold. “I wanted to be a medallist but I didn’t imagine this situation.” Related Story Source link
Temba Bavuma celebrates after they won the match against Netherlands (Reuters) Temba Bavuma will captain South Africa in their one-day international series against Australia from September 24 to 30, with fast bowler Gerald Coetzee recalled in the 50-over format.Fast bowler Kagiso Rabada will miss the series with injury but is hoping to be ready for the test matches that follow. Ottneil Baartman, Kwena Maphaka, Lungi Ngidi, Corbin Bosch and Marco Jansen make up the fast bowling stocks. Dewald Brevis has not been selected with Matthew Breetzke, David Miller and Tristan Stubbs preferred as middle-order batting options.Bjorn Fortuin and Keshav Maharaj are the two specialist spin options in the squad. “With the World Cup just over a year away, this series marks an important step in shaping the squad as we build towards the tournament, while also giving those players who are in the frame opportunities when we face Bangladesh and England later in the season,” coach Shukri Conrad said. The series against Australia gets under way in Durban on September 24, before the second match in Johannesburg on September 27 and then Potchefstroom on September 30. Squad: Temba Bavuma (captain), Ottneil Baartman, Corbin Bosch, Matthew Breetzke, Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Tony de Zorzi, Bjorn Fortuin, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kwena Maphaka, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Ryan Rickelton and Tristan Stubbs Related Story Source link
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Qatari weightlifting is seeking to achieve a new Asian milestone during its participation in the 20th Asian Games, Aichi-Nagoya 2026, hosted by Japan from Sept. 19 to Oct. 4.The Qatari delegation is pinning its hopes of winning medals at this edition on veteran Olympic weightlifter Fares Ibrahim, alongside weightlifter Wissal Yakhlef, whose impressive performances point to a promising future.This participation comes after an unsuccessful showing by Qatar’s weightlifting team at the previous edition, Hangzhou 2022, where the delegation failed to reach the podium. This provides Qatar’s weightlifters with even greater motivation at the Nagoya Games to make amends for those results and return strongly to the continental medal stage.Qatari weightlifting, represented by Fares Ibrahim and Wissal Yakhlaf, is gearing up for a strong and exceptional showing, with ambitions to achieve new glories and add to the illustrious record of Qatari sports.Qatari weightlifting boasts a proud history at the Asian Games, with the Qatar Weightlifting Federation among the first national sports federations to earn a place on regional and continental podiums.Three historic editions stand out in the sport’s journey, during which Qatar’s champions won three medals: one gold and two silver.Qatar’s first gold medal came at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, South Korea, marking the country’s emergence as a continental weightlifting powerhouse. Weightlifter Asaad Saeed Saif claimed gold in the 105kg category with an outstanding performance, recording a total lift of 417.5kg: 192.5kg in the snatch and 225kg in the clean and jerk.The second medal came in front of the Qatari fans in Doha, where weightlifter Jaber Saeed Salem etched his name in the record books by winning the silver medal in the over-105 kg category, following a fierce and thrilling competition with renowned Iranian weightlifter Hossein Rezazadeh. He secured second place with a total lift of 410 kg: 185kg in the snatch and 225kg in the clean and jerk.Finally, at the Jakarta-Palembang 2018 Asian Games, Olympic champion Fares Ibrahim maintained Qatar’s impressive momentum by winning the silver medal in the 94kg category, which was Qatar’s first silver medal at that edition.The silver medal came after a fiercely contested battle with Iranian weightlifter Sohrab Moradi, who broke the world record at the time.Fares recorded a total lift of 381kg: 166kg in the snatch and 215kg in the clean and jerk.That Asian Games silver proved to be a crucial springboard and a source of motivation for Fares Ibrahim, propelling him to global glory and a historic gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.Qatari weightlifting enters the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games buoyed by its proud legacy. With Fares Ibrahim’s high level of readiness and extensive experience in handling pressure, alongside the eagerly anticipated appearance of promising weightlifter Wissal Yakhlaf, Qatar will look to make a strong mark and reaffirm its status as a leading producer of weightlifting champions in Asia. Source link
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