Asian Games: India’s Quimcy Dsouza reaches Teqball semi-finals, one win away from historic medal; mixed doubles pair eyes bronze

Japan’s Yuina Sakamoto kicks a ball, Japan, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (AP Photo) India’s Quimcy Joaquim Dsouza moved a single win away from creating history after reaching the semi-finals of the women’s singles teqball at the Asian Games in Nagoya on Friday.Making her Asian Games debut, Quimcy upset top seed Yuina Sakamoto of Japan 2-1 (10-12, 12-11, 13-11) in her first Group A match.She followed that up with a 2-0 (12-9, 12-7) win over Cambodia’s Koemyean DY in her second group match to finish top of Group A and book a place in the semi-finals.By topping the group, Quimcy received a bye in the quarterfinals.The 24-year-old will face Indonesia’s Sumaya in Saturday’s semi-finals. A win will guarantee India its first ever medal in teqball, one of the six sports making its debut at the Asian Games.Even if she is eliminated in the semifinals, Quimcy will still have a shot at bronze on Sunday.

Mixed doubles pair of eyes bronze

In the mixed doubles, Quimcy and Mohammed Anas Imran Beg were defeated 0-2 (7-12, 10-12) by Vietnam’s Hoang Minh Tan Nguyen and Gia Nghi Trinh in the quarter-finals.However, the Indian pair continue to fight for the bronze medal after winning the rematch.Quimcy and Beg opened their campaign with a 2-0 (12-10, 12-3) win over the Filipino pair of Jhoana Abulencia and Prince Augustin in Group A before losing their next match 1-2 (8-12, 12-7, 10-12).They then suffered back-to-back defeats, losing 0-2 (3-12, 8-12) to Cambodia’s Thuonvireak Bun and Sophornraksmey Yorn and by the same score to Thailand’s Phakpong Dejaroen and Suphawadi Wongkhamchan.The Indian duo bounced back with a 2-0 (12-1, 12-6) win over Salman Alebraheem and Hessah Alfailakawi to reach the quarter-finals, where they lost to Vietnam.In the rematch, Quimcy and Beg defeated Abulencia and Augustin for the second time on the same day, winning 2-0 (12-3, 12-6) to stay in medal contention.Teqball is one of six sports making its debut at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, alongside mixed martial arts (MMA), padel, surfing, BMX freestyle and virtual taekwondo.

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Share an opinionThe sport combines elements of football and table tennis. It was invented in Hungary in 2014 by Gabor Borsanyi, Gyorgy Gattyan and Viktor Huszar, while the first official teqball world championship was held in Budapest in 2017.In teqball, players use every part of their body except their hands and arms to collect a standard size five soccer ball across a curved table divided by a clear Plexiglas net.