India's Quimcy Dsouza missed out on the women's singles teqball final at the Asian Games 2026 after she lost 1-2 to Indonesia's Ima Sumaya in a tight semi-final at Nagoya. However, Dsouza's medal hopes remain alive as she will compete for the bronze medal on Sunday.
Dsouza had made her Asian Games debut in a confident way and instantly put Sumaya under pressure. The Indian took the opening set and won it 12-7, putting herself in a strong position to get a place in the finals.
Sumaya, however, did well in the second set. Dsouza remained close after the start and scored 8-7 to get into the match, but the Indonesian player managed to regain control in the key moments. Sumaya won the second set 12-9 to make the match go to a third set and the semifinal.
The decider appeared to be in Dsouza’s favor at first. She opened up a 3-0 lead before winning 4-1. With the final seemingly in sight, Sumaya made an excellent comeback and started to win.
The Indonesian’s turnaround was decisive. Sumaya dominated the closing set and finally won 12-7 to complete the comeback and earn her place in the final. For Dsouza, the result was a bitter disappointment in a semi-final in which she had taken the initiative early.
But Dsouza’s Asian Games campaign is far from over. She will also get another chance for a medal in the bronze-medal contest on Sunday. In fact, her opponent will be Japan’s Yuina Sakamoto, ranked No. 7 in the world.
The bronze-medal match will also give Dsouza a chance to build on her great performance so far in the group stage. She had earlier defeated Sakamoto in a tight match, winning 10-12, 12-11, 13-11. That result may give the Indian confidence going into their next match.
Dsouza also won against Cambodia’s Kemyean Dy in the group stage. The two wins took her to the top of her group and she qualified for the semifinal.
A win against Sakamoto would also be important beyond Dsouza’s personal campaign, as teqball will make its debut at the Aichi-Nagoya edition of the Asian Games. A medal would, therefore, be an important moment for India in the sport at the continental multi-sport event.
Dsouza has already made an impression in her Asian Games debut. Her entry in the competition has also seen India’s growth in teqball, a sport that combines football and table tennis and is played on a curved table.
So Dsouza's focus now shifts from the disappointment of the semifinal to the bronze-medal opportunity. She has already beaten Sakamoto in the group stage and will look to reproduce that performance when they meet again.
On the other hand, the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games will begin on September 19 with the opening ceremony in Nagoya. India’s flag-bearer line-up also had a last-minute change with Kabaddi player Pawan Sehrawat replacing shot putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor alongside Manu Bhaker. The reason behind the change was Toor’s ceremonial kit and his failure to reach the ceremony on time.
Dsouza remains one win away from a possible medal in India’s wider Asian Games campaign. The semifinal loss ended her gold-medal hopes, but the bronze-medal contest is another chance to make history in teqball at the Asian Games.
