For the second time in a row, a country outside of Europe hosts the World Teqball Championships. Vietnam’s largest city, Ho Chi Minh City will bring a record number of athletes (221), showing the constant growth of the sports. The opening press conference of the WTCH24 was held at the beautiful Rex Hotel, with not only the media representatives but most of the players joining.

Despite getting more and more professional, worldwide and competitive, the community of teqball is still a family. The World Teqball Championships is a celebration of this sport, where not only the best of the best can challenge each other, but a great opportunity for the players to see friends they last saw a while ago.

The opening press conference is the best place for them to gather around and have a few words with somebody they have not seen for a year, regardless of nationality or accolades. And this is exactly what happened in Ho Chi Minh City before things got a bit more formal.

First, Nguyễn Nam Nhân, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City wished everybody a successful tournament, proudly highlighting the fact that this tournament brought the largest number of athletes in the history of the World Teqball Championships with 221 players.

Then, Gábor Borsányi, president of FITEQ and co-founder of Teqball welcomed everybody at the World Teqball Championships 2024, then thanked the city of Ho Chi Minh, Saigon Sports and Gábor Lehőcz, Consul General at the Consulate General of Hungary in Ho Chi Minh City for making this event happen. He emphasized that the energy and hospitality of Vietnam create the perfect setting for these historic championships. He added that they are not only celebrating the championship but also shaping the future of teqball and inspiring the next generation of athletes.

Gábor Lehőcz, Consul General, Consulate General of Hungary in Ho Chi Minh City thanked FITEQ for bringing the WTCH24 to Ho Chi Minh City and expressed his hope that this event would further improve the city’s respect, also adding that Vietnam already hosted a great event in Quy Nhon earlier in 2024.

Ester Viana Mendes, last year’s bronze medallist in Bangkok in women’s doubles said she worked really hard throughout the year to improve, just like fellow Brazilians. They expanded their staff to level up their preparation for this tournament.

Đỗ Bảo Huy, who will represent Vietnam in men’s singles told the audience that Teqball is a great sport, a nice mix of other sports, and he feels honoured to compete for his country, hopefully making Vietnamese people proud.

After the speeches and the Q&A session, László Vajda, FITEQ General Secretary handed out this year’s Merit Awards to Piyapat Jarunpong, co-founder and Secretary General of the Teqball Association of Thailand, and Bhembe Mfanafuthi Taribo, founder and President of the Teqball Eswatini Federation for their excellent work in Teqball.

To close the event, the official draw for the WTCH24 was conducted, and many oohs and aahs were received from the players, who wasted no time and started to prepare for the WTCH24.