Dear Sport Fraternity,
As Project Manager for Teqball in Sri Lanka, I am delighted to write for the official website of TEQ Sri Lanka.
Teqball is one of the new and fastest-growing sports on the globe. Also, this is the newest sport in Sri Lanka. The sport was introduced just before the COVID-19 pandemic struck. Since then, we have seen it develop gradually. As of 2020, the Ministry of Sports, the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka and the Fédération Internationale de Teqball (FITEQ) have all contributed immensely to our growth and development in such a short period of time. Team TEQ Sri Lanka qualified for the Asian Beach Games 2020 which was scheduled to be held in Sanya, China but has since been postponed to 2022 due to the unprecedented situation.
March 05, 2020 was the red-letter day for TEQ Sri Lanka as Teqball was officially launched in the country by Mr. Marius Vizer Jr, the General-Secretary of FITEQ and we enjoyed a demonstration session by Malaysian teqers. Furthermore, Teqball was used as a demonstration sport during the Olympic Day Celebrations in 2020 by the NOC Sri Lanka.
The introduction and development of Teqball in Sri Lanka have seen the country break into the top five world rankings. Looking at the statistics as of May 2021, Sri Lanka is ranked 3rd based on the total number of teqers. This has made us proudly call ourselves ‘TeqLankans.’ As of today we have over 200 players, more than 160 referees and more than 60 coaches from 27 teq clubs. We have conducted eight educational programmes around Sri Lanka this year. Mr. Milán Szabó – an international coach was invited and conducted training camps in Sri Lanka.
TEQ Sri Lanka is very keen on social responsibility activities as well. TEQ Sri Lanka donated tables for the war-and-tsunami-ravaged areas, sports clubs and another for a women’s team as a way to empower them. A tree-planting project was initiated by TEQ Mannar under the auspices of TEQ Sri Lanka in 2021.
I am pleased to introduce IDM Nations Campus who have very recently joined us as strategic partners for our future activities. We are very glad to welcome them aboard!
As Project Manager, it has not been an easy task to establish a national sports federation in Sri Lanka within such a short period of time but we have accomplished it as a team even during these uncertain times. I am fully satisfied with our progress as compared to many other developed countries. I therefore strongly believe that there is a great future for Sri Lanka in Teqball at the international stage.
I take this opportunity to thank our President – Mr. Gamini Jayasinghe for his guidance and advice as well as the time he has dedicated to the development of the sport. The Executive Committee Members’ commitment is really appreciated. My sincere appreciation goes to our Hon. President - Dr. V. Janagan. Sir, without your multiple contributions in our development processes, we would not come to this level today within a short period – Thank you!
I would like to wish the club coordinators and Teqlankans on a fantastic job well done. Keep up with the good work and practice that will see our motherland Sri Lanka on the global map as champions in no time.
Finally, my profound thanks to the FITEQ staff, especially Mr. Marius, Ms. Lilla Horváth, Mr. Krisztian Horvath and Mr. Milán for their great support all the way from Hungary – We’d be nowhere without you!
I trust Teqball shall be one of the leading sports in Sri Lanka in the near future. With that hope, I wish you all the best and enjoy Teqball.
GOBINATH ‘SiGo’ Sivarajah
Project Manager - TEQ Sri Lanka
#ProudToBeTeqlankan
