* Teqball awards first gold medals on Asian Games debut * Thai athletes claim three of five titles * Hungarian-invented sport has Olympic ambitions With Spanish soccer great Carles Puyol on board and a growing fan base in Asia, teqball's ambitious global federation is confident that the sport's quirky hybrid of soccer and table tennis will one day muscle its way on to the Olympic programme. Teqball took a small but firm step toward legitimacy on Sunday when it awarded its first Asian Games medals on its debut at the multi-sport event in Nagoya, with Thai athletes claiming three of the five titles. With capacity for only a few hundred fans, the Higashi Sports Centre was hardly Wembley Stadium but the crowd were impressed by the athletes' skill as they hoofed the ball back and forth across the sport's signature curved table. "It's an amazing milestone on our journey because the teq world community globally is dreaming of becoming an Olympic sport one day," International Teqball Federation (ITF) general secretary Laszlo Vajda told Reuters at the venue. "I'm very confident actually that our debut as a medal sport at the Asian Games will be such an event that the IOC (International Olympic Committee) will recognise that yes, the sport, the venue, the engagement, the reach, the relevance to young people, the attraction and all that is in place." HUNGARIAN ROOTSTeqball has roots in a training exercise during the golden era of Hungarian soccer in the mid-20th century when players practised "foot-tennis" across a net with a leather ball. The modern game has come a long way in a short time. It was conceived a little over a decade ago by two Hungarian friends, a former professional soccer player and a computer scientist, who played around with a soccer ball on a ping pong table. After refining the table's curve, the duo teamed up with a Hungarian businessman and set about popularising the sport. The ITF was set up in 2017 and has staged several world championships. For the uninitiated, the sport might appear a bit zany but it is in good company on an Asian Games programme laden with off-beat disciplines such as virtual taekwondo and esports. Many of them, like teqball, dream of a spot on the Olympics, which means legitimacy, funding and the chance to grow a global fan base. Teqball is still early on that journey and has been building its social media profile with the help of former soccer names such as ex-Barcelona captain Puyol, who played 100 times for Spain. Before the Asian Games competition on Sunday, Puyol had a kick-around with a procession of Asian influencers after a clinic with students at a nearby university. There were no ticket-paying fans watching -- it was all for the social media numbers. TOP FOOTBALL CLUBS HAVE USED TEQBALL TABLES IN TRAINING A number of top soccer teams, including Manchester United, Paris St Germain and Barcelona, have used teqball tables at their training grounds. "I think it helps professional players improve technically, and also for warming up," Puyol told Reuters at the competition venue. "As a sport, it’s growing a lot in many countries. I think the more people play it, the more it will grow, because it’s a really fun game and I see it having a big future." Encouragingly for the sport's Olympic dreams, Asian nations have been enthusiastic adopters. Teqball has similarities to sepak takraw, the popular Southeast Asian sport, which has players volleying a ball on a badminton-style court. With Thailand a sepak takraw super-power, the nation has relished the chance for more Asian Games gold as a teqball tyrant. But it was no Southeast Asian shutout -- the spread of Asian Games medallists spanned the continent from Kuwait to Japan. "I am so happy I could die right now," said South Korea's Lee Jun-suk after beating his Iraqi opponent for the men's singles gold. "I wanted to be a medallist but I didn’t imagine this situation."

Josh Inglis scored his second One-Day International century and Nathan Ellis his highest score in the format with an unbeaten 36 from 44 balls as Australia claimed a dramatic one-wicket victory over hosts Zimbabwe with a ball to spare in Harare on Sunday.When Ellis was joined at the crease by number 11 Spencer Johnson (7 from 13 balls), the tourists needed 27 runs to reach their victory target of 272, something the pair managed at a run-a-ball to take their side to the win.Zimbabwe will rue Wessly Madhevere dropping Ellis in the penultimate over when he could have sealed victory for them, as he then failed to defend nine runs in the final over when Ellis hit a six off the first ball.Australia, who rested several of their regulars for the tour, claimed the series 3-0 and now move on to South Africa for three ODI fixtures that begin in Durban on Thursday."Great game of cricket," Australia captain Mitchell Marsh said. "I thought Zimbabwe probably deserved to win but the boys got the job done at the end there and that was fantastic to see."We're aware we need to keep improving as a team. I thought the way we played over the three matches, albeit today we got lucky, but there's lots of positive signs with our group. We've got some young talent which is exciting for the future." HOME SIDE ELECTED TO BAT FIRSTAfter the home side elected to bat first, Zimbabwe’s innings was anchored by an unbeaten 81 from 72 balls by captain Sikandar Raza, to go with half-centuries for Craig Ervine (59 from 79 balls) and Innocent Kaia (55 from 66 balls).Kaia retired hurt with a hamstring injury, with the score on 148 for three, as he could no longer run between the wickets.Seamer Ellis was also the pick of the Australian bowlers with 3-50 in his 10 overs.Australia were always up with the run rate in their reply but when openers Travis Head (6) and Marsh (8) fell early, it set the tone for an innings where they lost wickets at regular intervals.But Inglis scored a superb 103 from 102 balls as he struck 11 fours, with the next highest scorer Ellis on his unbeaten 36.Zimbabwe all-rounder Brad Evans was the pick of the home bowlers with 4-47 in 10 overs."I thought 280-290 was par with the bat so to make a game out of 272 was a great effort," Raza said. "As a captain I'm really proud. Plenty to learn. I'd rather have a game like that than for the Aussies to just chase it down in 40 overs." BRIEF SCORESAustralia 272 for 9 (Inglis 103, Evans 4-47) beat Zimbabwe 271 for 8 (Raza 81*, Ervine 59, Kaia 55 ret hurt, Ellis 3-50) by one wicket