LONDON, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Viktor Huszar, one of the three co-founders of teqball, is eagerly awaiting the return of live sports and believes teqball's debut at the Asian Beach Games in Sanya, China could make a splash.
"As with all sports, teqball's competition calendar has naturally been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic," The Hungarian football-loving computer scientist told Xinhua. "We are all really missing the buzz of live teqball competitions and we cannot wait to see the sport return."
"However, our key focus right now is to encourage the teqball family to stay safe but also to stay active. We are hoping to see the return of teqball competitions on a national level soon, before ending 2020 with a 'smash' - as we say in teqball - with the 2020 Teqball World Championships and our debut as a medal sport on the Sanya 2020 Asian Beach Games program."
Teqball, created in Hungary in 2012, is a football-based sport, played on a specially-curved table. The sport allows players a maximum of three touches before returning the ball to the opponent, with no physical contact allowed between the players, or between the players and the table.
"As it is non-contact and played on a 3-meter long table, Teqball is actually the perfect social-distancing sport," said Huszar.
After being recognized by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) in 2018, teqball has already been played in over 25 countries and regions in Asia. It is a medal event at this year's Asian Beach Games, scheduled to be held from November 28 to December 6 in Sanya, China.
"It is very exciting for teqball to be a part of the Games and we can't wait to return to the beautiful beaches of Sanya," said Huszar. "Last December, we held an Asia-Pacific Beach Teqball Cup in Sanya, which served as a test event for the Asian Beach Games this year. From the operational side of the event, all the way to the friendliness and passion for sport amongst the local people, everything about our experience was of the highest quality."
Huszar would like to annotate teqball as a sport that inspires people of all ages, abilities, gender and cultures.
"Even at the elite level, we had a nine-year-old compete in our World Championships, as well as a 50-year-old. We also don't specify genders for the competitions, meaning women often compete against men."
FITEQ, the governing body of teqball, has launched a global club development program to help the teqball family during and after the current crisis.
"We are investing around 10 million euros (about 10.9 million U.S. dollars) into the sport by providing Teq tables and educational support to national federations. It is important that we equip the teqball family with the resources to grow the sport in their country, especially during the hard times we are currently in." Enditem
