Thai Teen Panida Upsets World No. 2 at Si Racha Teqball Tour

Thai 17-year-old teqball player Panida pulled off a giant-killing by defeating the world number two from Romania to advance in the world-ranking teqball tour. The youth teqball force shows no signs of stopping! "Paeng" Panida, the 17-year-old rising star, competed in her first international singles event and toppled "Kinga Barabasi," the world number two women's teqball player from Romania, 2-1 sets to reach the round of 16 in a shock to the entire arena at the world-ranking teqball competition "Teqball Tour – Si Racha 2026."

The world-ranking teqball competition "Teqball Tour – Si Racha 2026" at Pacific Hall, Pacific Park shopping center in Si Racha, Chonburi, from October 23-25, 2026, featured 97 athletes from 23 countries competing in three categories: men's singles, women's singles, and mixed doubles. As hosts, Thailand fielded 18 athletes including the three Asian Games gold medalists and youth wildcards.

On the evening of October 24, the second competition day, the women's singles category took center stage. The highlight was the round of 16 where "Paeng" Panida, the 17-year-old national team member and bronze medalist in mixed doubles at the 2025 Bangkok Tour, competed in her first international singles event. Though unranked in singles, she advanced from the group stage as runner-up in Group A with a 3-2 record, losing only to "Yok Noi Lamphun" Jutatip Kuntathong, Thailand's world number one. In the round of 16, she faced the heavy favorite "Kinga Barabasi," the world number two from Romania, whom many predicted would reach the final against Jutatip.

But from the first set, it was Panida who played strongly, consistently drawing points from the world number two until the Thai teenager created a surprise by winning the first set 12-8, leading 1-0. In the second set, the Romanian favorite focused intensely, quickly building a lead with left-side smashes to take the set 12-3, leveling at 1-1.

In the decisive set, with Thai cheers filling Pacific Hall, Kinga showed nerves and played less smoothly than before. Meanwhile, Panida defended tenaciously and capitalized on attacking opportunities, scoring consecutive points to lead the world number two and clinch victory 12-8, sending the whole hall into an uproar. "Paeng" Panida of Thailand defeated Kinga Barabasi of Romania 2-1 sets (12-8, 3-12, 12-8) to advance to the quarterfinals in stunning fashion.

After the match, 17-year-old Panida expressed her feelings: "I feel proud. At first I didn't think I could do it. I was very scared, wondering if I could pull it off. But I've trained quite hard. During the match when Kinga kept hitting winners at 1-1 in sets, I tried to think that we'd already won one set, so we had to be able to do it again. Finally, I'm happy to have advanced another step. This is the highest-ranked opponent I've ever beaten in my life, and it's also my first time playing singles in an international competition."

Meanwhile, in the semifinals later that same night, top seed "Yok Noi Lamphun" Jutatip Kuntathong, the world number one, defeated Viiorika Tonu, world number eight from Moldova, 2-0 sets (12-7, 12-4). In the bottom half, Paeng Panida, who had reached the quarterfinals, continued her run.