Myanmar win first Asian Games teqball gold as Spain great Puyol watches

Myanmar's Wai Khin Hnin won the country's first Asian Games gold medal in teqball, defeating Indonesia's Sumaya 2-1 in the women's singles final. The sport, which combines elements of football and table tennis, was invented 14 years ago in a Hungarian garage and features players kicking a ball over a curved table. Barcelona and Spain football legend Carles Puyol watched the match.

Teqball incorporates elements of the southeast Asian sport sepak takraw and has grown rapidly, having featured at the 2023 European Games. The Asian Games competition saw a diverse range of players, including 14-year-olds from the Philippines and Takahiro Nodomi from Japan, who also works as a comedian.

Nodomi, 40, said he started playing teqball in his late 30s after giving up football in high school, and was proud to have made it to the big stage. Indonesia's Husni Uba, who represented his country in sepak takraw at four previous Asian Games, also competed in the teqball event.

Brief written by urgent.news from Channel News Asia, New Straits Times, The Hindu, Gulf News, Hindustan Times — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.