Lee Jun-seok Extends Unbeaten Streak to 5 Without Dropping a Set in Teqball Men's Singles, Reaches Quarterfinals

South Korean national teqball player Lee Jun-seok (27) has advanced to the quarterfinals of the men's singles event in the new sport with a dominant streak.

Lee secured his ticket to the quarterfinals, awarded to the top four players in the group, by claiming five consecutive victories in the Group B matches of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games men's singles held today (September 17) at the Higashi Sports Center in Nagoya, Japan.

He will challenge for a spot in the semifinals in the quarterfinal match scheduled to take place at the same venue later this afternoon.

In his opening group match against Alissa (Laos), Lee claimed a dominant 2-0 set victory (12-1, 12-0).

He then defeated Prince Agustin (Philippines) 2-0 (12-5, 12-6) and Yoga Ardika Putra (Indonesia) 2-0 (12-1, 12-3).

His gameplay stood out as he pushed opponents back with strong attacks and then steadily accumulated points through delicate short shots with controlled pace.

After defeating his fourth opponent, Ba Truong Giang (Vietnam), 2-0 (12-8, 12-4) and securing a 2-0 (12-5, 12-9) win against Wase Akinori (Japan), Lee completed five straight wins without dropping a single set throughout the five matches.

Lee let out a roar after completing his five consecutive group stage victories.

Teqball is a sport where players exchange a football over a specially curved table, combining key elements from various ball sports.

It is a sport that merges the precise angles of table tennis, the ball control of football and jokgu, and the spectacular aerial attacks of sepak takraw.

Invented in Hungary in 2012, teqball began drawing attention as foreign football players often enjoyed it for training or leisure.

A match consists of three sets, and the player who wins two sets first is the winner.

Each set is won by the first player to reach 12 points, and the deuce rule applies only to the third set.

Like volleyball, the ball must be sent over to the opponent's court within three touches, and players cannot touch the ball consecutively with the same body part.

Therefore, quick judgment and delicate control are required.

South Korea is competing in three events at this tournament: men's singles, men's doubles (Lee Jun-seok and Lee Tae-bin), and mixed doubles (Kim Eun-jun and Jang Eun-seo).

On the opening day, September 17, the men's singles and doubles matches take place up to the quarterfinals, while the women's singles and doubles as well as mixed doubles will hold matches up to the quarterfinals on September 18.

The semifinals for each event will be held on September 19, followed by the finals on September 20.

Meanwhile, officials from the newly established Korea Teqball Federation, along with webtoon artist Park Kwang-su and comedian Lim Hyuk-pil, visited the Higashi Sports Center where the matches were held to cheer enthusiastically.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.