First Danish FITEQ event is about to start
For the first time ever, Denmark delivers the venue for a FITEQ event. Grindsted, Jutland, Denmark, is busy getting ready for the start of the
MAGION Culture and Sports Center, where more than 60 players are making their entrance.
From June 21 to June 23, Grindsted will be the gathering point for the world's teqball profiles when part of the Teqball Tour is played here. Five
categories will be represented at Teqball Tour Grindsted, where in five categories 83 players representing 18 nations will face each other.
Great excitement is planned in all categories at the Teqball Tour in Grindsted. Especially for the Danish hosts, there is a lot at stake, as two of the most high-profile Danes will be present with their participation in Grindsted. Nanna Lind Kristensen is one of the host nation's biggest talents, where she competes in Women's Singles and Women's Doubles, where she plays with compatriot Mira Fænø Dahlmann. Currently, Lind Kristensen can be found on the FITEQ Worlds Ranking as number 15.
In the Women's Singles, 20 athletes are competing across 13 different nationalities. In the Women's Doubles, 9 pairs are excitedly waiting for the whistle to sound. On the men's side, Brian Mengel "Brizze" Thomsen can be found in both Men's Singles and Men's Doubles with Dane Mathias Landen Jeppesen. Mengel himself is particularly recognized for his fourth place at the World Teqball Championships 2023 in Bangkok, which was his best result ever. In addition, it is precisely the Danish teqball profile that has helped bring the sport and the event to Denmark. A total of 40 athletes are competing in the Men's Singles, across 13 different nationalities. On the other hand, 22 couples line up at the Men's Doubles, where there are also close matches to be expected across both nationalities and age groups.
At this tournament, in addition to being diverse in terms of nationalities and gender, the field will be marked by both debutants and more prominent names.
Among some of the favourites to play with for the podium places, we have in Men's Singles the Romanian Apor Gyorgydeak, who through 2024 has won the most points of all male singles players. In addition, a man like Brian Mengel Thomsen must also be mentioned, as he has a home-court advantage.
In the Women's Singles, eyes should be on French Amelie Julian, who is in first place for the most points in 2024 on the women's side. By all accounts, she will be in sharp competition with a player like Romanian Kinga Barabasi, who is also high in the field.
Men's Doubles features Hungarian Csaba Banyik/Balazs Kats and Serbian-Hungarian Nikola Mitro & Adam Blazsovics, both pairs are at the top of the ranking. In the Women's Doubles, there are also some Hungarians at stake who can be difficult to beat, namely Petra Pechy and Nora Vicsek, who have been the best-playing pair throughout 2024. They are closely followed by national women Krisztina Acs and Gabrielle Kota, have played their way to the second most points this year.
In Mixed Doubles, there are also plans for some exciting and close duels, since several of the top profiles line up in pairs in this discipline. Known from Men's Doubles and Women's Doubles players Csaba Banyik and Krisztina Acs with each other - the mixed pair that currently has the best win rate in 2024 with 87.80%. The Hungarians face stiff competition from, among others, the French Hugo Rabeux and Amelie Julian.
So, while more profiles enter the tournament with the hope and expectation of playing for the fun spots, there are also new faces making their debut on the bigger stage.
A varied group of these can enjoy playing at home. Denmark is fielding Brian Mengel Thomsen, Noah Dahlmann, Nanna Lind Kristensen, Mira Fænø Dahlmann, Mathias Landen Jeppesen, Magnus Aagaard Madsen, Frederik Guldborg-Mondrup, Saxe Paarup-Clausen, Marcus Lindhardt Larsen, Mathias Sander Rasmussen and Jens Toftegaard. There are thus 11 Danish players who can look forward to playing at home across the five categories.
All the matches of the tournament can be followed live on TEQ TV, just as the matches can be followed for free directly at the Magion Culture and Sports Center in Grindsted, Denmark.