Asian Games: India's teqball campaign ends without a medal
What's the story
India's teqball campaign at the 2026 Asian Games has come to an end without a medal. Quimcy Dsouza lost two bronze playoffs on Sunday, marking the end of India's journey in this sport at the event. The Indian contingent had three members competing in teqball, including Dsouza, Mohamed Anas Imran Beg, and Declan Marshall Gonsalves.
Performance
Journey of Dsouza at Asian Games
Dsouza started her Asian Games campaign by defeating Japan's Yuina Sakamoto in straight sets and Cambodia's Koemyean Dy in straight sets.
This victory helped her top the group and secure a direct entry into the semi-finals.
However, she lost to Indonesia's Ima Sumaya in a closely contested match (7-12, 12-9, 12-7) and was relegated to the bronze medal playoff.
Challenges
Injury hampers Dsouza's campaign; Beg partners her in mixed doubles
In the bronze medal playoff, Dsouza faced Sakamoto again but was unable to come on top this time, losing by 2-0 (12-11, 12-11).
Shortly after this defeat, she partnered with Beg for the mixed doubles match but suffered an injury and lost once more.
The Indian pair went down 2-0 (12-9, 12-6) to Vietnam's Hoang Minh Tan Nguyen and Gia Nghi Trinh.
Despite these setbacks, Dsouza's journey in teqball has been remarkable.
She was introduced to the sport through Ronaldinho reels on Instagram and has since become a seven-time national champion.
Information
The campaign got underway on Thursday
Notably, India's teqball campaign at the ongoing Asian Games began on Thursday, two days before the opening ceremony. Gonsalves and Beg joined forces at the men's doubles at the Nagoya City Higashi Sports Center. The Indian pair lost both their Group B matches in straight sets and failed to progress to the knockouts.
Sport overview
What is teqball?
Teqball, a sport that combines elements of football and table tennis, is played on a curved table.
Players cannot use their hands or touch the table or opponent.
The game was invented by former Hungarian footballer Gabor Borsanyi in 2012.
He developed teqball with computer scientist Viktor Huszar and businessman Gyorgy Gattyan, both fellow football fans.