Denzhou: Filipinos Jade Andrei Ignacio and Janelle Jhane Ramos learned a lot from the Teqball World Series in Denzhou, China, which concluded Sunday. Playing in their first international tournament, the Laoag City-based duo managed a victory against Chinese players Yifan Cheng and Yimeng Yang in the second round with scores of 11-12, 12-9, 12-8, but they eventually fell to Romanian Kinga Barabasi and Polish Marek Pokwap, who are ranked No. 3 and No. 4 in the International Teqball Federation (FITEQ) world singles rankings, with scores of 1-12, 1-12.
According to Philippines News Agency, 16-year-old Ignacio shared, "It's nice to play against the best players in the world, we learned a lot from the experience. We gave our best and the result was okay," during an online interview. Ignacio, an incoming Grade 12 student at Ilocos Norte National High School, also participated in the men's singles category. He was defeated by Hungarian Arpad Sipos in the first round (5-12, 2-12) but secured a win against Chinese Xiang Liu (12-4, 12-5) in the second round. Ignacio's journey ended in the Round-of-32 against Hungarian Balazs Imreh (1-12, 9-12).
Ramos, also 16, expressed her gratitude to her partner Andrei for his support and is motivated to train harder for future international competitions. Ignacio and Ramos earned their place in the World Series by topping the two-leg PITEQ qualifying tournaments in Tarlac City, Cainta, and Laoag City, Ilocos Norte.
National coach George Balanay, who also teaches sepak takraw, commented on the significance of their performance. "This is the first time that the Philippines beat a team in mixed doubles and men's singles in the World Series, we are proud of our two players," he said. Balanay is optimistic about the potential for future success, highlighting the support from Philippine Teqball Federation (PITEQ) officials, including President Victor Yap, Secretary General Peter Paul Soliman, and Executive Director Jovy Mamawal.
The World Series serves as preparation for several upcoming events, including the Asian Youth Games in Bahrain, Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Saudi Arabia, and the SEA Games in Bangkok, Thailand. Teqball, a sport that combines elements of soccer and sepak takraw, is gaining popularity as a European spectator sport.
Supported by the Philippine Olympic Committee and the Philippine Sports Commission, the national team previously participated in the 2023 Cambodia SEA Games, where teqball was introduced as a demonstration sport. Last year, the Philippines competed in events in Koh Samui, Thailand; the World Series in Vietnam; and the World Championships in Bangkok. PITEQ, a member of FITEQ, gained official recognition from the Olympic Council of Asia in August 2018 and the Global Association of International Sports Federations in November 2020.
