Nagoya – Myanmar’s Wai Khin Hnin on Sunday became the first Asian Games gold medalist in teqball, an acrobatic soccer-table tennis hybrid making its debut at this year’s event. Watched by Barcelona and Spain soccer legend Carles Puyol, Wai Khin Hnin beat Indonesia’s Sumaya, who goes by one name, 2-1 in the final to capture the inaugural women’s singles title. Teqball was invented 14 years ago in a garage in Hungary and features players kicking a ball over a curved table, incorporating elements of the southeast Asian sport sepak takraw.
The sport has grown quickly and featured at the 2023 European Games. Wai Khin Hnin lost the first set of the final but came back to win 10-12, 12-8, 12-9 and claim gold. The Philippines men’s team featured three 14-year-olds including Prince Agustin, who lost in the singles bronze-medal match.
Japan was represented by Takahiro Nodomi, who also works as a comedian.
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