Quimcy Dsouza closes in on historic teqball medal for India
Indian makes a winning debut in sport that combines football and table tennis, storms into women's singles semifinals
India's Quimcy Joaquim Dsouza reaches women's singles semifinals on Asian Games debut, beating Japan's top seed Yuina Sakamoto and Cambodia's Koemyean DY in the group stage.
She is now one win away from India's first-ever teqball medal; even a semifinal defeat would leave her with a chance to compete for bronze.
Teqball, a Hungarian sport combining football and table tennis, is making its Asian Games debut; Dsouza and Mohammed Anas Imran Beg also remain in mixed doubles medal contention through the repechage.
India's Quimcy Joaquim Dsouza moved to within one win of a historic Asian Games medal in teqball after storming into the women's singles semifinals in Japan's Nagoya on Friday, 18 September.
Teqball is a fast-paced sport that combines elements of football and table tennis. Players use almost every part of their body except their hands and arms to rally a standard size-five football across a curved table divided by a transparent plexiglass net.
Making her Asian Games debut, 24-year-old Dsouza stunned top seed Yuina Sakamoto of Japan 2-1 (10-12, 12-11, 13-11) in her opening group A match, which lasted 43 minutes at the Nagoya City Higashi Sports Centre.
The young Indian carried that momentum into her second group match, defeating Cambodia's Koemyean DY 2-0 (12-9, 12-7) in 24 minutes to top the group and seal her place in the semifinals.
Dsouza received a bye in the quarterfinals by virtue of finishing first in her group. She will face Indonesia's Sumaya in the semifinals on Saturday, with a victory guaranteeing India its first-ever medal in teqball, one of six sports making its debut at the continental showpiece.
Even if Dsouza loses in the last four, she will have a chance to compete for bronze on Sunday.
However, Dsouza and Mohammed Anas Imran Beg missed out on a direct route to the podium after losing their mixed doubles quarterfinal against Vietnam's Hoang Minh Tan Nguyen and Gia Nghi Trinh. The Indian pair went down 0-2 (7-12, 10-12), but remain in medal contention after winning their repechage tie.
Dsouza and Beg began their campaign on a positive note, beating the Philippines' Jhoana Abulencia and Prince Augustin 2-0 (12-10, 12-3) in their opening group A match before losing 1-2 (8-12, 12-7, 10-12) in their next tie.
The Indian duo then suffered consecutive defeats, going down 0-2 (3-12, 8-12) to Cambodia's Thuonvireak Bun and Sophornraksmey Yorn before losing by the same margin to Thailand's Phakpong Dejaroen and Suphawadi Wongkhamchan. They bounced back strongly, however, beating Salman Alebraheem and Hessah Alfailakawi 2-0 (12-1, 12-6) to secure a quarterfinal berth, where their campaign faltered.
In the repechage, Dsouza and Beg got the better of Abulencia and Augustin for the second time in the day, beating the Filipino pair 2-0 (12-3, 12-6) to remain in contention for a medal.
Teqball is one of six sports — alongside mixed martial arts, padel, surfing, BMX freestyle and virtual taekwondo — making their Asian Games debut in Aichi-Nagoya.
The sport was invented in Hungary in 2014 by football enthusiasts Gabor Borsanyi, Gyorgy Gattyan and Viktor Huszar. The first official Teqball World Championships were held in Budapest in 2017.
With PTI inputs