Taking on India’s Dsouza Quimcy Joaquim and Beg Mohamed Anas Imran in the mixed doubles bronze medal match, the Vietnamese pair made a positive start, maintaining their composure in exchanges and ball-handling situations. After a closely contested opening set, Minh Tan and Gia Nghi won 12-9.

In the second set, the Vietnamese pair continued to control the match and moved into a 9-5 lead. Play was then suspended for around 15 minutes as Dsouza Quimcy Joaquim received treatment for an injury.

When the match resumed, Minh Tan and Gia Nghi remained focused and did not allow their opponents to mount a comeback, winning 12-6. They took the match 2-0 to secure the bronze medal.

The medal is particularly significant as teqball made its debut in the official competition programme of the Asian Games at ASIAD 20. In its first appearance at the continental multi-sport event, Vietnamese teqball already had athletes competing in medal matches and secured its first Asian Games medal.

Minh Tan and Gia Nghi’s notable run

The bronze medal was the result of a substantial campaign rather than a short run. Before reaching the medal match, Minh Tan and Gia Nghi came through the group stage and then defeated opponents from Japan and India to advance.

In the semi-finals on September 19, the Vietnamese pair faced Thailand’s Dejaroen Phakpong and Wongkhamchan Suphawadi, who are ranked third in the world in mixed doubles. Minh Tan and Gia Nghi lost 0-2, with scores of 8-12 and 6-12, sending them into the bronze medal match.

The Indian opponents were also familiar. Minh Tan and Gia Nghi had defeated Dsouza Quimcy Joaquim and Beg Mohamed Anas Imran 2-0 in the quarter-finals. Facing the same pair again in the bronze medal match required the Vietnamese athletes to maintain their concentration, particularly after the semi-final defeat.

The 2-0 victory completed Minh Tan and Gia Nghi’s campaign with a medal and gave Vietnamese teqball one of the first notable milestones in the history of the sport at ASIAD 20.

Men’s doubles pair fall short after impressive run

The same day, Vietnam’s men’s doubles pair Ba Truong Giang and Le Anh Khoa had also reached the bronze medal match.

The two athletes came through the group stage with wins over India and the Republic of Korea. In the quarter-finals, they lost to a Lebanese pair but remained in contention through the repechage bracket. There, Truong Giang and Anh Khoa defeated the Korean pair again, winning 12-7, losing 11-12 and taking the decider 12-9 to reach the bronze medal match.

Their run was particularly notable because Ba Truong Giang had played eight matches on September 17. Despite the demanding schedule, the Vietnamese pair maintained their focus at crucial moments to reach the medal match.

In the men’s doubles bronze medal match on September 20, Truong Giang and Anh Khoa made a strong start against Iraq’s Ahmed Radhi and Jalil Mezher but were eventually beaten 2-1, missing out on another medal for Vietnamese teqball.

Nevertheless, the fact that both Vietnam’s men’s doubles and mixed doubles pairs reached bronze medal matches at the sport’s first appearance at the Asian Games highlighted the competitiveness of the Vietnamese athletes in the relatively new sport.

Teqball is played on a distinctive curved table and draws on football skills, with athletes using permitted parts of the body rather than their hands to control and return the ball. The sport requires ball control, quick reactions and strong coordination, particularly in doubles events.

From a sport still relatively new to Vietnamese audiences, teqball has quickly made its mark on the continental stage, with one bronze medal secured and another Vietnamese pair reaching the bronze medal match at its Asian Games debut.

Vietnamese athletes given encouragement ahead of ASIAD 20

VOV.VN - Nguyen Van Hung, chairman of the Vietnam Olympic Committee, and Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Pham Quang Hieu visited and encouraged members of the Vietnam sports delegation at the athletes’ village for the 2026 Asian Games (ASIAD 20) in Japan on September 19 ahead of competitions.