(2nd LD) (Asiad) S. Korean player reaches semifinals in men's singles as teqball makes debut

(ATTN: CHANGES headline, lead; UPDATES with latest result in paras 9-10)
By Yoo Jee-ho

NAGOYA, Japan, Sept. 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Lee Jun-suk reached the semifinals of the men's singles in teqball as the sport made its Asian Games debut in central Japan on Thursday.

Lee ran the table on the first day of the teqball tournament at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Nagoya City Higashi Sports Center, tucked in the northern part of Nagoya.

Invented in Hungary in 2014, teqball combines elements of football, table tennis, freestyle skills and sepaktakraw. It is played on a curved table, with players allowed to hit the ball with any part of their body except the hands and arms.

A player must return the ball with a maximum of three touches. In doubles matches, teammates must pass the ball at least once to each other. Also, players are not allowed to touch the ball with the same body part twice in a row.

Each player in the singles or each team in the doubles is allowed two smashes per set that result in the ball leaving the field of play. According to the International Teqball Federation, this rule encourages players to "explore a wider range of attacking options" instead of trying to hit the ball hard all the time while also "contributing to longer and more engaging rallies."

Lee, 27, beat Alisa Phomsouliya of Laos 2-0 (12-1, 12-0) in the opening Group B match and then took down Prince Agustin of the Philippines 2-0 (12-5, 12-6).

Lee then took care of Yoga Ardika Putra of Indonesia 2-0 (12-1, 12-3) before beating Ba Truong Giang of Vietnam 2-0 (12-8, 12-4).

In the final group match, Lee shut down Akinori Wase of Japan 2-0 (12-5, 12-9) to cap off his undefeated run.

In the singles, Group A featured five players, and Group B had six players, with the top four from each group moving on to the quarterfinals.

In the quarters, Lee, as the top seed from Group B, defeated the fourth seed from Group A, Kudaiberdi Abdilazizovich Aidarbekov of Kyrgyzstan 2-0 (12-2, 12-1). The semifinals are scheduled for Saturday, followed by the bronze medal match and the gold medal match Sunday.

"I thought I could win a lot of matches as long as I executed my plans and didn't get too nervous," Lee said after his preliminary round. "But I never thought I could win all five matches without dropping one game."

Lee played before dozens of raucous South Korean fans at the 400-seat arena. Then when Lee went up against Wase, South Korean and Japanese supporters tried to drown out each other's chants. Lee said he was fired up more for that match than any of his previous contests.

"Of course, anytime we go up against a Japanese athlete, it carries that extra weight," Lee said with a smile. "At the start of the match, I told myself I could not afford to lose this one. And I wanted to have a big reaction before the Japanese fans, too."

The sport has attracted athletes with backgrounds in football and sepaktakraw, a Southeast Asian sport that features elements of volleyball and football. South Korea began competing internationally in teqball in 2019.

Lee himself is a former football player who reached the fourth division in South Korea at age 21.