South Korea has won its first medal in teqball, a sport adopted as an official event for the first time at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. National team captain Lee Jun-seok reached the men's singles final, guaranteeing at least a silver medal.
Lee advanced to the final by beating Zaid Aidan of Kuwait in the men's singles semifinal at Nagoya's Higashi Sports Center on the 19th. Lee took the first set 12-10 and was leading 3-2 in the second when Aidan retired with a left thigh injury, sealing Lee's place in the final.
Teqball is played by passing a soccer ball back and forth over a curved table, combining elements of soccer and table tennis. It was adopted as an official Asian Games sport for the first time at this competition. Matches are played over three sets, with the first player to win two sets taking the match. Each set goes to the first player to reach 12 points.
"Today's match gave me hope that I can keep competing as an athlete," Lee said after the win. "I want to win the gold medal in tomorrow's final to raise the profile of teqball and to build a foundation so that our athletes can continue their careers without worry." Lee quit his job to train full time in pursuit of a medal at these Asian Games.
Lee will face Ali Jalil Mezher Alelayawi of Iraq for the gold medal at 3:30 p.m. on the 20th at the same venue. South Korea's teqball team entered three events at this competition: men's singles, men's doubles and mixed doubles.
