Asian Games 2026: Quimcy Dsouza one win away from historic Teqball medal

Quimcy Joaquim Dsouza moved within one win of a historic Asian Games medal for India after reaching the women’s singles semifinals in Teqball at Aichi-Nagoya on Friday.

Making her Asian Games debut, the 24-year-old began her campaign with a major upset, defeating top seed Yuina Sakamoto of Japan 2-1 (10-12, 12-11, 13-11) in a 43-minute Group A contest at the Nagoya City Higashi Sports Center.

Dsouza followed it with a straight-games victory over Cambodia’s Koemyean DY, winning 12-9, 12-7 in 24 minutes. The two victories took her to the top of the group and directly into the semifinals after she received a quarterfinal bye.

She will face Indonesia’s Sumaya in the last four on Saturday. Victory would guarantee India its first medal in Teqball, one of six sports making their Asian Games debut in Aichi-Nagoya. Even a semifinal defeat would leave Dsouza with another opportunity to claim bronze through the medal play-off.

India also remain in contention for a Teqball medal in mixed doubles. Dsouza and Mohamed Anas Baig defeated the Philippines 12-3, 12-6 in the repechage to reach the bronze medal match.

The pair will return on Sunday after a rest day and face one of the losing semifinalists for a place on the podium.

Teqball combines elements of football and table tennis, with players using their body, except their hands and arms, to return a football across a curved table. The sport was invented in Hungary in 2014 and held its first World Championships in Budapest in 2017.