Plenty of local residents in Quy Nhon City under Vietnam’s south-central province of Binh Dinh showed great enthusiasm for experiencing a brand-new sport called teqball on a local beach in recent days.

Teqball is a hybrid sport that combines the elements of football, table tennis, and sepak takraw.

It is played on a curved table where players hit a football back and forth with any part of the body except arms and hands.

Binh Dinh will host its first-ever international teqball tournament from June 6 to 9, with 131 athletes from 53 countries and territories expected to visit this coastal Vietnamese province to compete at this sports event.

In preparation for the tournament, authorities had set up many teqball tables at a local beach for local people to experience this new sport.

Some residents said that teqball being played on a curved table makes it a really interesting sport.

They elaborated that the rules of teqball are similar to those of table tennis, but teqball requires players to have basic football and sepak takraw skills.

Teqball has also become a magnet for many young people in this coastal city.

Nguyen Duy Tuan, a native of Quy Nhon, said with much enthusiasm that the downward-sloping and knee-high table makes teqball so interesting and special.

“I gave it [teqball] a try and found it thrilling”, Tuan said.

He described teqball as quite challenging, as players need to be good at ball handling and learn where to strike the ball for accuracy.

Meanwhile, many other teenagers showed their confidence in playing teqball for the first time.

Tran Manh Hung, a 15-year-old resident of Quy Nhon, said he watched teqball on TV and has a liking for this sport as it requires players to have good ball control skills and techniques, rather than their physical strength.

Also, there is no physical contact in teqball and therefore there is a low risk of injury, Hung elaborated.

In 2012, two Hungarians, former professional player Gabor Borsanyi and computer scientist Viktor Huszar came up with a new version of the game played on a curved version of a table-tennis table and dubbed it teqball.

They then teamed up with businessman Gyuri Gattyan and set about popularizing the sport and selling Teq tables all over the world, according to Reuters.

A group of teen boys play teqball on a curved table. Photo: Lam Thien / Tuoi Tre

A large number of teenagers play teqball near a beach in Quy Nhon City in Binh Dinh Province, south-central Vietnam. Photo: Lam Thien / Tuoi Tre

Teqball requires players to have good ball control skills. Photo: Lam Thien / Tuoi Tre

Two teqball players perform coordination skills. Photo: Lam Thien / Tuoi Tre

Local residents enjoy watching teqball games. Photo: Lam Thien / Tuoi Tre

A tense yet exciting atmosphere of a teqball game. Photo: Lam Thien / Tuoi Tre

Teqball players smile at each other. Photo: Lam Thien / Tuoi Tre

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!