Twisty and exciting clashes, fascinating movements, big excitement for the home crowd, all at a picturesque scene, this is how the second stop of the Teqball Tour in Asia, in Koh Samui, Thailand went down.

40 duos from 13 countries in three categories (women’s, men’s and mixed doubles) competed in Koh Samui, Thailand at the third occasion in Asia.

Women’s doubles

The Janicsek/Barabasi pair had a strong start to the women’s doubles in Koh Samui, as they faced the Thai duo of Seesawad/Homdee against whom they fell short in the semifinal in a week ago. This time, they successfully fought back in a rather tight and exciting game, warming up for the upcoming clashes of the second day in Thailand. Continuing their journey with a close first, but a smooth second set victory against the Gomez/Greco, closing the group phase with a one-sided game against their Indian opponents. In the semifinal they faced and overcame the American-Brazil duo of Osmundson/Fontes against whom the Wongkhamchan/Kuntatong double kicked off their tournament. In a close match, the Thai teqers managed to outpower their opponent, moving into a game where they let the Qatari counterpart to achieve only three points in two sets. The other semifinal saw the two Thai teams’ clash, from which Wongkhamchan and Kuntatong emerged victorious, just as they did in the final in Qingdao. The gold medal match took off with European advantage which did not last too long as Wongkhamchan/Kuntatong enjoyed the support of the home crowd, playing with passionate energy, turned over the bout by winning both sets confidently and collecting their second gold medal after in only one week.

Wongkhamchan/Kuntatong – Janicsek/Barabasi 2:0 (-7, -2)

Seesawad/Homdee kept the bronze home as they came back after the first loss set against Osmundson/Fontes and won in three.

Mixed doubles

The mixed doubles were the lasts to step to the table at the competition in Koh Samui. The Osmundson/Gorgydeak duo worked their way hard through the field, overcoming the Kuntatong/Kukheaw double in the morning, then emerging victoriously from an extremely close clash against Dejaroen and Wongkhamchan, another home side. After finishing the group with a clear win, in the quarterfinal, came yet another tense match which resulted to be the warm-up for the semifinal. The match for the final with Chanliang/Seesawad ended up being one of the highlights of the event in Koh Samui, fascinating the crowd at the scene with thrilling moments and dazzling movements. The Katz/Barabasi duo entered the gold medal match with only two lost sets, after a one-sided, then a  twisty and finally a clear match in Group D. The quarterfinal against Csaba Banyik and Zsanett Janicsek brought another clear victory for the Hungarian-Romanian unit, after which meeting with Dejaroen/Wongkhamchan on their home soil proved to be not such an easy task. Katz/Barabasi had to find the way back to their best form after a great surprise from the Thai double in the second set in the semifinal. In the gold medal match, Katz/Barabasi showed off a confident performance in the first set, saving some of this secret recipe for the second, but only until the Osmundson/Gyorgydeak duo managed to take a grip on their adversaries and equalize. This came as a shock for Katz/Barabasi who regrouped and struck back but still suffered a bit to finish the game, eventually, Barabasi after a lost women’s final achieved a gold medal in mixed doubles while Katz made the first step towards having two of the shiniest medals.

Katz (HUN)/Barabasi (ROU) – Osmundson (USA)/Gyorgydeak (ROU) 2:0 (-7, -11)

Dejaroen/Wongkhamchan faced Chanliang/Seesawad at the home battle and in two close sets with jaw-dropping bicycle kicks the former duo celebrated.

Men’s doubles

The finalists of the men’s doubles have already met in the final round of group A on the first day in Koh Samui, where the Hungarian pair of Banyik/Katz managed to defeat the Thaosiri/Chanliang duo by 2:1 with two relatively close and a smooth final set. As the tournament evolved, the Thai players continued to amaze everyone with their performance, participating only at their second international Teqball competition, being this their first time playing together. The Thai-duo upset the whole field sliding their way into the final, etching some thrilling moments into the history books, overcoming another Hungarian side in the quarterfinals in a tense encounter, then causing yet another surprise by triumphing in a close but straight match in the semifinal against the Romanian pair of Gyorgydeak and Ilyes who are currently ranked sixth on the world ranking. Csaba Banyik and Balazs Katz, the second-best men’s double in the world right currently, had a more relaxing journey while reaching the final as they overcame their Indian opponents in the quarterfinal and then in the second set of the semifinal closing out their Thai adversaries. The not-so-long-ago crowned European champions carried the momentum into the gold medal match dominating the first set, but then, playing on home soil, the Thaosiri/Chanliang double seemed to strike back in the second set, turning the final into a close fight. However, the Hungarian side got extra energy, took the lead back and, even with some risky moments, finished the match confidently, claiming their well-earned gold medal.

Banyik/Katz (HUN) – Thaosiri/Chanliang (THA) 2:0 (-6, -9)

Kukheaw/Dejaroen triumphed in the bronze game against Gyorgydeak/Ilyes.

The best teqers will next meet and showcase their talent in Rio de Janiero, between 7-10 September, as the Teqball Tour continues.