BANGKOK (AFP) – Combining football and table tennis, teqball competitors lunged and lobbed football balls at the Bangkok Arena on Sunday, in the first World Championships outside Europe.
Invented in 2012 in Hungary, a record number of participants took part over the weekend, with retired football great and teqball ambassador Ronaldinho making an appearance.
Bounding through the crowd, the Brazilian played in a gala match, eagerly watched by the professionals, grinning as his precision kicks lifted the ball.
Either alone or in pairs, teqers must trade shots over unusual curved tables without using their arms – the catch being they cannot use the same body part twice consecutively.
In Thailand, the sport has similarities to sepak takraw, a popular Southeast Asian game played on a badminton court that combines elements of football and volleyball.
Ronaldinho isn’t the only high-profile fan, with the sport catching the eyes of some of the world’s best footballers such as Neymar, Sadio Mane and Harry Maguire, who say they use it improve their technique.
But the international federation (Fiteq) dreams of making it more than a novelty sport – and are setting their sights high.
“The Olympics are a dream,” said teqball co-inventor and Fiteq chairman Viktor Huszar.
“It’s three Hungarians who really love football,” he told AFP, explaining they invented the game to avoid injuries.
“I think it will be played by the best clubs. Maybe some day, Barcelona will play against Real Madrid in teqball.”
The event in Bangkok over the weekend attracted a record 221 participants, including 80 women, from 61 different countries, according to the organisers.
Recent convert to teqball, Cameroonian Marie Letitia Togodne Yaoussou started playing just four months before her match.
“I had never played football,” she told AFP, explaining she was approached for ping-pong skills.
“In table tennis, you have to measure the ball, you have to add spin,” said the 23-year-old.
