"Soccer on a ping-pong table?" Lee Jun-seok, the inaugural champion of the new sport "Techball," wins... South Korea's third gold medal [Aichi Nagoya AG]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

South Korean Techball national team member Lee Jun-seok (27) has etched his name in history as the first-ever Techball gold medalist at the Asian Games.

On the 20th, Lee Jun-seok defeated Iraq's Ali Jalil Mezher Alayawi with a set score of 2-0 (12-11, 12-5) in the men's singles final of Techball at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held at Nagoya Higashi Sports Center in Japan, securing the championship.

Techball, a newly introduced sport at this tournament, combines the angles of table tennis, ball control from soccer and foot-volleyball, and aerial maneuvers from Sepak Takraw. Played on a curved special table using a soccer ball, matches follow a best-of-three sets format (first to 12 points per set; deuce rules apply only in the third set). Like volleyball, players must pass the ball to the opponent's side within three touches, and cannot strike the ball consecutively with the same body part.

Lee Jun-seok displayed overwhelming skill. After advancing through Group B of the group stage with five consecutive victories, he defeated Kyrgyzstan's Aidarbekov 2-0 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, he reached the final after his opponent, Kuwait's Zaid Ayyad, withdrew due to injury.

The first set of the final was a thrilling comeback. Lee Jun-seok, trailing 0-3 early on, launched a strong counterattack with powerful kicks when the score reached 4-7, then scored three consecutive points at 8-9 to seize momentum and ultimately won 12-11. Riding this momentum, he dominated the second set by capitalizing on his opponent's errors from a 2-2 tie, scoring seven straight points to close out the match easily with a 12-5 victory.

With this win, Lee Jun-seok claimed the title of inaugural champion in Asian Games Techball. For the South Korean delegation, this marks their third gold medal of the tournament, following modern pentathlon athlete Sung Seung-min's women's individual event and the men's team competition.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original