{
  "id": 8642016,
  "title": "Lee Jun-suk becomes inaugural gold medalist in men's teqball",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/20/lee-jun-suk-becomes-inaugural-gold-medalist-in-mens-teqball-8642016",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-20T08:07:02.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times-koreatimes",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/sports/20260920/lee-jun-suk-becomes-inaugural-gold-medalist-in-mens-teqball"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Lee Jun-suk of South Korea claimed the inaugural gold medal in men's teqball at the Asian Games on Sunday, making history as the sport's first champion at the Asian Games. The 27-year-old South Korean player defeated Ali Jalil Mezher Alelayawi of Iraq with a score of 2-0 (12-11, 12-5) in the final match held at Nagoya City Higashi Sports Center in Nagoya, Japan. Lee won all five group matches and both knockout contests en route to the top spot. Teqball, invented in Hungary in 2014, merges aspects of football, table tennis, freestyle skills, and sepaktakraw. Played on a curved table, players are permitted to strike the ball with any part of their body other than their hands and arms, with a maximum of three touches allowed per player, and no consecutive touches with the same body part. Lee's victory added to South Korea's tally of three gold medals at the Asian Games.",
  "summary": "NAGOYA, Japan — Lee Jun-suk soared to gold in the men's singles teqball event at the Asian Games on Sunday, becoming the inaugural champion of the brand new sport making its Asiad debut. Lee defeated Ali Jalil Mezher Alelayawi of Iraq 2-0 (12-11, 12-5) in the final at Nagoya City Higashi Sports Center in Nagoya, Japan. Lee, 27, went undefeated on his way to the top of the podium, having won all…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Korea Times",
        "title": "Lee Jun-suk becomes inaugural gold medalist in men's teqball",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/20/lee-jun-suk-becomes-inaugural-gold-medalist-in-mens-teqball",
        "published": "2026-09-20T07:52:03.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}