Lee Junseok Makes History with South Korea's First Asian Games Techball Gold After Quitting His Job

Defeats Aleyawe 2-0 in Aichi-Nagoya Final

Transitions to Techball after K4 League Soccer Career Until 21

Quits Company Job Early This Year After Hearing of Official Event Inclusion

Lee Junseok, a member of South Korea's national Techball team, has won the gold medal.

On the 20th, at the Higashi Sports Center in Nagoya, Japan, Lee Junseok defeated Ali Jalil Mezher Aleyawe from Iraq with a set score of 2-0 (12-11, 12-5) in the men's singles final of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games Techball event. This marks South Korea's first-ever gold medal in Techball. Lee's achievement is South Korea's third gold at these Games, following Seungmin Seong's victory in the modern pentathlon women's individual event and the men's team event in modern pentathlon.

In the semifinals the day before, Lee advanced to the final after his opponent retired due to a thigh muscle injury during the match. However, at the start of today's game, Lee seemed unable to overcome his nerves, making several mistakes. His shaky performance, including consecutive failed serves, saw him trailing 0-3.

Lee Junseok is cheering while holding the Taegukgi after winning the men's singles techball final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held at the Nagoya Higashi Sports Center on the 20th. Nagoya=Yonhap News Agency

Nevertheless, Lee soon regained his focus and began to mount a comeback. Utilizing clever play to force mistakes from his opponent, he steadily closed the gap. After scoring with a deceptive shot at 5-9, he celebrated with a unique gesture, raising both arms. Sensing his opponent was losing composure, Lee unleashed a series of aggressive attacks and reversed the score to 10-9. At 11-11, he secured the first set with a powerful attack.

In the second set, Lee allowed no room for a comeback. He continued to dictate the flow of the match by forcing errors from his opponent. At 3-2, his rival made consecutive mistakes, and Lee stretched the lead to 6-2. He maintained his focus, widened the score gap, and clinched the victory.

Lee said, "Since Techball was only belatedly included as an official event, unlike athletes from other sports, I wasn't able to train at Jincheon National Training Center and instead practiced with the national team outside. Despite the harsh conditions, we trained without a single day off from morning until night. I'm truly happy to see that hard work paying off."

Joonseok Lee is attacking in the men's singles final of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games Techball held at Higashi Sports Center in Nagoya on the 20th. Nagoya=Yonhap News Agency

Techball is a sport played with a soccer ball on a curved, specially designed table. Developed in Hungary in 2012, it first gained attention as a training exercise among football players, and began to establish itself as a professional sport with the founding of the International Federation of Techball in 2017. The first player to reach 12 points wins each set, with the "deuce" rule only applying in the third set. Like volleyball, the ball must be returned to the opposing side within three touches, but the same body part cannot be used for consecutive touches.

In South Korea, the Korea Techball Association was established in 2018. Most Techball athletes in Korea are former soccer or foot volleyball players who pursue the sport alongside their main occupations. Lee Junseok, South Korea's Techball ace, played football in the K4 League until the age of 21, transitioned to foot volleyball, and eventually discovered Techball. He was working as a contract manufacturing worker at a large company until February this year, when Techball was belatedly designated as an official Asian Games event. At that time, he decided to leave his job to focus on training and ultimately achieved his dream.

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