\n<\/p>\n
NAGOYA, Japan \u2013 With Spanish soccer great Carles Puyol on board and a growing fan base in Asia, teqball\u2019s ambitious global federation is confident that the sport\u2019s quirky hybrid of \u200bsoccer and table tennis will one day muscle its way on to the Olympic programme.<\/strong><\/p>\n Teqball took a small but firm step toward \u200clegitimacy on Sunday when it awarded its first Asian Games medals on its debut at the multi-sport event in Nagoya, with Thai athletes claiming three of the five titles.<\/p>\n With capacity for only a few hundred fans, the Higashi Sports Centre was hardly Wembley Stadium but the crowd were impressed by the athletes\u2019 skill as they hoofed the ball back and forth \u200bacross the sport\u2019s signature curved table.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s an amazing milestone on our journey because the teq world community globally is dreaming of becoming an \u200bOlympic sport one day,\u201d International Teqball Federation (ITF) general secretary Laszlo Vajda told Reuters at the venue.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m very confident actually that \u2060our debut as a medal sport at the Asian Games will be such an event that the IOC (International Olympic Committee) will recognise that yes, the sport, \u200bthe venue, the engagement, the reach, the relevance to young people, the attraction and all that is in place.\u201d<\/p>\n HUNGARIAN ROOTS<\/strong><\/p>\n Teqball has roots in a training exercise during \u200bthe golden era of Hungarian soccer in the mid-20th century when players practised \u201cfoot-tennis\u201d across a net with a leather ball.<\/p>\n The modern game has come a long way in a short time.<\/p>\n It was conceived a little over a decade ago by two Hungarian friends, a former professional soccer player and a computer scientist, who played around with a soccer ball on \u200ba ping pong table.<\/p>\n After refining the table\u2019s curve, the duo teamed up with a Hungarian businessman and set about popularising the sport.<\/p>\n The ITF was set up \u200bin 2017 and has staged several world championships.<\/p>\n For the uninitiated, the sport might appear a bit zany but it is in good company on an Asian Games programme laden \u200cwith off-beat \u2060disciplines such as virtual taekwondo and esports.<\/p>\n Many of them, like teqball, dream of a spot on the Olympics, which means legitimacy, funding and the chance to grow a global fan base.<\/p>\n Teqball is still early on that journey and has been building its social media profile with the help of former soccer names such as ex-Barcelona captain Puyol, who played 100 times for Spain.<\/p>\n Before the Asian Games competition on Sunday, Puyol had a kick-around with a procession of Asian influencers after \u200ba clinic with students at a nearby \u200buniversity.<\/p>\n There were no ticket-paying fans watching \u2014 \u2060it was all for the social media numbers.<\/p>\n A number of top soccer teams, including Manchester United, Paris St Germain and Barcelona, have used teqball tables at their training grounds.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it helps professional players improve technically, and also for \u200bwarming up,\u201d Puyol told Reuters at the competition venue.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a sport, it\u2019s growing a lot in many countries. I \u200bthink the more people \u2060play it, the more it will grow, because it\u2019s a really fun game and I see it having a big future.\u201d<\/p>\n Encouragingly for the sport\u2019s Olympic dreams, Asian nations have been enthusiastic adopters.<\/p>\n Teqball has similarities to sepak takraw, the popular Southeast Asian sport, which has players volleying a ball on a badminton-style court.<\/p>\n With Thailand a sepak takraw \u2060super-power, the \u200bnation has relished the chance for more Asian Games gold as a teqball tyrant.<\/p>\n But it \u200bwas no Southeast Asian shutout \u2014 the spread of Asian Games medallists spanned the continent from Kuwait to Japan.<\/p>\n \u201cI am so happy I could die right now,\u201d said South Korea\u2019s Lee Jun-suk after beating \u200bhis Iraqi opponent for the men\u2019s singles gold.<\/p>\n \u201cI wanted to be a medallist but I didn\u2019t imagine this situation.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n