sports

The teqball technical innovation tournament took place at Pyongyang Municipal Sports Village.

The contest, divided into six categories, brought together more than 30 men and women players selected from the Pyongyang Sports Club, the Ministry of Light Industry Sports Club, the Rimyongsu Sports Club and the Kim Jong Thae Electric Locomotive Complex Sports Club.

The first ever tournament since the teqball association was organized aroused curiosity of many people, drawing popularity with the thrilling playing scenes as time passed.

Winners were decided by putting together the scores obtained through the league matches in the team event and doubles and by holding a knock-out competition in the singles.

The players fully displayed the physical, technical and tactical abilities they had improved in ordinary times, including skilful handling of ball, rapid movement and correct serve.

The singles matches were nail-biting for the seesaw battles.

The spectators felt very excited and nervous to see them as they were a physical, technical and tactical confrontation and a psychological contest as well.

In the first round, the Pyongyang Sports Club player won by an overwhelming margin, but in the second round, the player from the Kim Jong Thae Electric Locomotive Complex Sports Club put psychological pressure on the opponent while taking the lead by making effective use of his strong points.

The player from the Pyongyang Sports Club, who recovered his form in the third round, won the match by playing the match with composure to the last.

The Ministry of Light Industry Sports Club won the team event in the teqball technical innovation tournament.

To be more specific, the Pyongyang Sports Club was placed first in the men's doubles, the Ministry of Light Industry Sports Club in the women's doubles and the Kim Jong Thae Electric Locomotive Complex Sports Club in the mixed doubles and the Pyongyang Sports Club won both the men's and women's singles.

Most players played the matches relatively well at a certain level though they learned to play the sport for only less than six months, said Yun Chol, secretary general of the Teqball Association. “As it was the first event of this sport in our country, imperfections were revealed in the organization of the tournament, but it was a big success. We will work hard to improve the techniques of the sport to the world level as early as possible so as to live up to the expectations of experts and fans.”