Ronaldinho Ga?cho, widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, will be in the Bangkok Arena on December 2 at 6 p.m. On December 2, from 7:30pm, a gala match with Ronaldinho will be broadcast live on MONO. Ronaldinho will play with Andrew Henderson and Thai influencers Lukmee (Wanlapa Thongpal), Yong (Anuthep Chawengchutichot), and Golp (Pattadon Thongthang). Ronaldinho will also attend a meet and greet and autograph signing for fans on December 3 at 4:30pm.
Ronaldinho shared a message with teqball players and fans: "Hello everyone, my friends from Thailand, the Land of Smiles! Come and meet me at the World Teqball Championships 2023 in Bangkok. There will be the best teqball players in the world. I'll see you at the Bangkok Arena December 2 and 3. Big hug!"
World champion freestyle footballer Andrew Henderson says, "I feel humbled and honoured to share the stage with football legend Ronaldinho. I grew up watching his ball mastery both on and off the field on TV, and he was a big inspiration for me to start in the sport of freestyle football. Now I am starting in the sport of teqball and I'm super excited to play with Ronaldinho. If you had told me this when I started playing football, I would never have been able to believe it! He truly is one of the sports greats. I always feel proud to represent Great Britain and I will try my best to entertain the crowd, have fun and bring my skills to the Teqball arena!"
Thai players face lofty expectations, with opportunities to make history
Only once so far in the history of the championships has the home crowd had the privilege to see their favorites win it all and be crowned, when-in 2019-Hungary finished the event with two golds (Adam Blazsovics in men's singles, Blazsovics and Csaba Banyik in men's doubles) and a silver (Zsanett Janicsek and Banyik in mixed doubles). This year, Thai teqers have a chance to follow suit.
Thai women's singles
Last year, Jutatip Kuntatong put together a solid performance in Nuremberg and only lost to eventual bronze medalist Rafaella Fontes in the overtime of the third set in the Round of 8. Until then, her record was immaculate, not even letting their opponents (Maja Umicevic, Kateryna Fesenko, and Mara D'Alessandro) score more than 8 points in one set, so she is a strong candidate for a podium finish this year. Though she did not compete internationally in singles in 2023, she is undefeated in doubles, winning three Teqball Tours alongside Suphawadi Wongkhamchan.
Thai women's doubles
This unit could be the one that brings it home for Thailand. They took part in just three events (Dubai, Qingdao, and Koh Samui) in 2023, but showed to the rest of the players what they are capable of, sweeping all tournaments. They gave up just one set, and their points differential is +116 in only 9 matches! Of their previous opponents, only the Hungarian duo of Petra Pechy and Nora Vicsek will be there in Bangkok, and the one match they played ended with a 12:7, 12:4 victory for the Thais. Now, backed by their supporters, they could be as competitive as anybody.
Thai men's singles
The men's field is harder to predict. Uthen Kukheaw, who will represent the host country in the singles, has no appearance in this category on the international level. Uthen is an acrobatic dark horse who is familiar with success, as he and Phakpong Dejaroen collected three medals in 2023 in doubles.
Thai men's doubles
This time, Boonkoom Tipwong is getting the nod to play alongside Dejaroen. He was unlucky in the singles last year when he met the eventual finalist Adrian Duszak in the Round of 16 and forced the Polish ace to overtime in the third set. Tipwong and Dejaroen have yet to play together internationally, so it will be interesting to see their chemistry.
For the mixed doubles of Wongkhamchan and Dejaroen, after not taking part in the Worlds in 2022, it is their time to shine in front of their fans. Expectations are high, just like the bar they set with their results in 2023: two victories and one 3rd place in three tournaments, so they are strong contenders.
World Teqball Championships Schedule and Locations
The championships are being held at two venues:
- From November 29 to December 1 at Hua Mak Arena
- December 2 and 3 at Bangkok Arena
Media who would like to attend must register for accreditation at https://www.fiteq.org/signup
The World Teqball Championships event in Bangkok is drawing a record number of players, at 214, and record number of participating countries, at 61. In addition, this year's championships are setting a record number of total matches, at 404. A record number of 126 matches will be streamed (including two gala matches), of which 24 of these will be broadcast. In addition to Australia and Oceania, every continent is being represented.
Previews
Men's singles preview
The most competitors (55) are in the men's singles category, where quality also comes with quantity. Look no further than the sport's only four-time World Champion, Adam Blazsovics, who has won three individual gold medals so far out of five. Last year, the Hungarian ended up with the bronze after losing the semifinal against Adrian Duszak from Poland, who has finished on the podium on four consecutive occasions but is still looking for his first trophy. Romanian Apor Gyorgydeak put on a dominating show in Nuremberg in 2022, claiming the main prize without even losing a set, and in June he became teqball's first European Champion, winning the final again versus Duszak in Krakow. Without a doubt, he is the favourite.
Women's singles preview
This year, 38 women fight for the singles title, with the list starting with none other than defending champion Carolyn Greco. The American is ready to make it two in a row, and this time does not have to face the 2021 winner and WR Nr 1. Anna Izsak, who will not attend the event. Hungarian Zsanett Janicsek, who won the European Championships earlier this year and the Worlds in 2022 in doubles (both times with Lea Vasas), who also has a gold and a bronze in mixed doubles, will only play in the singles category in Thailand.
Women's doubles preview
The women's doubles competition could be the most unpredictable one, as many teams have changed since last year's event, and the field looks quite even but still loaded. What we know for sure is that 27 duos will face each other and none of them won the gold medal before in this category.
Men's doubles:
45 teams from 45 countries will face off in Thailand in the men's doubles, but only two of them will make it to the finals. The Hungarian duo has undoubtedly performed the best in 2023, while the Serbian duo has monopolized the World Teqball Championships in recent years. They are the odds-on favorites to clash in the gold medal game.
Mixed doubles:
As is the case in the women's doubles, the mixed doubles competition will be held without the defending champions, as neither Lea Vasas nor Adam Bako qualified for the Worlds. For Hungary, Krisztina Acs and Csaba Banyik will replace them. Banyik leads the World Ranking in this category (also winning the title in 2021), and together they were victorious on three occasions in 2023 and reached the final in the previous three tournaments.
Referees
The championships will have 24 referees: altogether 22 male and 2 female. Allocations by country are:
Hungary : 3
Poland : 3
Romania : 3
France : 2
Senegal : 1
Portugal : 3
USA : 2
Thailand : 4
Lebanon : 2
Serbia : 1
The Thai referees are Anucha Chumjaroen, Manut Lakornsing, Sutham Puteepotjanart, and Somporn Tumvised.