[Edaily Starin Lee Seok-Moo Reporter] Lee Jun-seok (27), who gave up his day job to compete in the Asian Games, has become the inaugural Techball champion. The dream he nurtured on a table his mother bought by scrimping and saving from their meager household budget has led to a gold medal.

On the 20th, at the Nagoya Higashi Sports Center in Japan, Lee Jun-seok defeated Ali Jalil Mezher Al-Layawi (Iraq) with a set score of 2-0 (12-11, 12-5) in the men’s singles final of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games Techball competition.

After overcoming a four-point deficit in the first set to secure a comeback victory, he dominated the second set to seal the win. This marks the South Korean delegation’s third gold medal of the day, following Seong Seung-min’s victory in the women’s modern pentathlon individual event and the men’s team event.

Techball is a sport in which players pass a soccer ball back and forth across a curved table. It was created in Hungary in 2012 and made its debut as an official Asian Games event at this tournament. In South Korea, many former soccer or foot volleyball players pursue the sport while balancing it with their day jobs.

Lee Jun-seok, captain of the South Korean national team, also took a winding path to the sport. He began playing soccer in elementary school, continued as a player until age 21, and even played in the K4 League. He later moved on to foot volleyball before taking up Techball. He had been working as a contract production worker at a major corporation and was on the verge of being converted to a permanent position, but he quit his job in February of this year upon hearing the news that Techball had been adopted as an official Asian Games event.

Even after earning a spot on the national team, training conditions were far from ideal. The team was unable to use the Jincheon National Training Center and had to train off-site. Until they were able to rent an indoor court in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, they played outdoors. During the rainy season, they had to fold up the tables whenever it rained and set them up again once the rain stopped.

Last April, Lee Jun-seok traveled to Hungary—a powerhouse in Techball—at his own expense. He contacted local players directly via social media and asked for private coaching. He learned techniques for putting spin on the ball and delivering powerful headers, honing them into his own strengths.

During the tournament, Lee Jun-seok said, “While preparing for Techball, I think I’ve worked harder than ever before in my life,” adding, “It makes me wonder what it would have been like if I’d put this much effort into soccer.” His greatest fear was that if he failed to win a medal, he would miss the opportunity to raise awareness of Techball, and his own future would become uncertain.

That sense of urgency translated into his performance on the court. Lee Jun-seok made history for Korean sports by winning all five of his group stage matches on the 17th without dropping a single set, and then smoothly advancing through the semifinals and finals.