Teqball, a hybrid sport combining elements of football and table tennis, is set to make its official debut at the Asian Games in Japan, marking a key milestone in its rapid global expansion.
Invented a little over a decade ago in Hungary when two friends began playing football on a ping pong table, teqball has grown into an international sport governed by the International Teqball Federation (FITEQ), which now oversees 147 national federations worldwide. Its inclusion in the Asian Games follows previous appearances at the European and African Games, as organizers target potential inclusion in the 2032 Olympic Games.
The competition at the Asian Games features teams representing 16 nations. Teqball is debuting alongside other new discipline additions, including padel and virtual taekwondo.
Played on a specially designed curved table, teqball matches are structured similarly to table tennis and feature both singles and doubles formats. Players are permitted a maximum of three touches to return the ball to the opponent’s side of the table, with the strict condition that no player may use the same body part consecutively.
According to International Teqball Federation Secretary General László Vajda, this restriction on consecutive body parts introduces a high level of intricacy to gameplay.
While invented in Europe, Thailand has emerged as the dominant global power in the sport. Major General Piyapat Jarunpong, secretariat of the Teqball Association of Thailand, noted that successful teqball play relies heavily on techniques adapted from sepak takraw, a centuries-old Southeast Asian sport often referred to as “foot volleyball.” Like teqball, sepak takraw prohibits the use of hands or arms, relying on leg strength, ball control, and acrobatic kicks.
Among the prominent competitors heading into the Games is Thailand’s Jutatip Kuntatong, 28, who currently holds the world No. 1 ranking in women’s teqball. Standing at 151 centimeters, Kuntatong won both the singles and doubles titles at the most recent world championships in Transylvania in December, despite having first encountered the sport six years ago.
Sources
[Guardian International](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/sep/18/balletic-hits-and-bicycle-kicks-teqball-comes-of-age-at-the-asian-games)
Source: Guardian International
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Story synopsis gathered from: Guardian International — source
