Lee Junseok Advances to Asian Games Teqball Singles Final, Secures Silver Medal

Lee Jun-seok (27) has advanced to the finals of the men's singles in teqball at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, securing at least a silver medal.

On September 19, at the Higashi Sports Center in Nagoya, Japan, Lee Jun-seok claimed victory in the men's singles teqball semifinal of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games after his opponent, Zaid Aidan from Kuwait, withdrew due to injury.

With this result, Lee Jun-seok became the first Korean athlete to secure a medal in teqball at the Asian Games.

Techball Lee Joonseok. Yonhap News

Teqball is a sport played by kicking a football back and forth over a curved, special table, resembling "ping pong with your feet." The first to score 12 points in each set wins, and the deuce rule is applied only in the third set. Like in volleyball, the ball must be returned to the opponent's side within three touches, and the same body part cannot be used for consecutive touches.

South Korea participated in three teqball events at this tournament: men's singles, men's doubles (Lee Jun-seok and Lee Tae-bin), and mixed doubles (Kim Eun-jun and Jang Eun-seo). Among them, only Lee Jun-seok in the men's singles advanced past the group stage.

In the semifinal, Lee Jun-seok took the first set 12-10. In the second set, leading 3-2, Lee's victory was confirmed when Aidan forfeited the match, citing pain in his left thigh muscle.

Lee Jun-seok will face Iraq's Ali Jalil Mezher Alayyawe for the gold medal on September 20.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.