Teqball men’s doubles. Gold for Hungary, bronze for Poland
Hungarians Csaba Banyik and Balzs Katz became gold medalists in men’s doubles. In the last installment of the teqball competition at the Main Square in Krakow, they defeated Serbians Bogdan Marojević and Nikola Mitro. The bronze medal was won by Poles Adrian Duszak and Marek Pokwap.
The Krakow Market Square experienced a real siege on Sunday – those willing to watch the semifinal and medal matches were much more than the seats in the stands. Fans stood in line, often tilting their heads to see even a fraction of what was happening on the field. And there was a lot going on… First, the Poles and Hungarians played a semifinal, which was interrupted on Saturday evening due to too slippery a surface. When the match was lost the Hungarians were leading after winning the first set. On Sunday, however, they played from 0:0. – I think it was fair, after all, the meeting was postponed through no fault of the players. It was decided by objective events over which we had no influence – said Duszak.
On Sunday this time it was the Poles who won the first set, but the next two were already better than the Hungarians, arousing admiration among the spectators with their skills. In the meeting for third place the red-and-whites had to compete against Romanians Apor Gyoergydeak and Szabolcs Ilyes. The Poles started brilliantly – by winning the first set 12:1, but the next two games were already much tighter. First, the Romanian representatives led to a tie, winning the set 12:9, and in the third set our team bounced back only in the end. They won 12:7 and had the right to perform a dance of joy on the court.
The matches were played in beautiful sunny weather, but even in the morning the surface of the main court was completely wet. The dedication of the volunteers, who also received thanks and applause from the audience at the end of the day, played a huge role in preparing it for play.
The final was not a one-sided spectacle. The Hungarians are great, but the Serbs also showed sportsmanship and commitment. In the third game – at 1:1, they took a quick 3:0 lead in points, but the Hungarians kept their cool. Csaba Banyik took charge of the serve and the Hungarian point output increased with each of his plays. – Serving is a very important element. Maybe it’s not the most important, because more counts, but sometimes you can achieve a lot thanks to it – said Banyik.
The match for gold was decided precisely through service – first two consecutive double service errors were committed by Marojević, and then the last point of the match was won by Banyik with a powerful serve. – I admit that I train this element a lot – said the long-legged Hungarian player after the match.
A total of about 100,000 spectators passed through the stands around the teqball fields during the Games. The sport won them great acclaim. Because teqball, even for someone who does not know the rules, is very simple to understand. It is enough to watch one game and even without explaining the rules, the average sports fan will understand everything and be able to cheer.