Quimcy Dsouza loses teqball semi at Asian Games 2026, will contest two bronze matches
Quimcy Dsouza was beaten in the women’s singles semi-final at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan on September 19, 2026, removing her from gold-medal contention. She will still have two chances at a podium finish, contesting the singles bronze on Sunday and also featuring in the mixed doubles bronze match.
The 24-year-old reached the semi-finals after winning all her group-stage matches and therefore qualifying directly for the last four. Her semi-final opponent was Sumaya of Indonesia in a closely fought contest. Teqball is one of six sports making its Asian Games debut, and India’s sole teqball outing on the day coincided with the Games’ opening ceremony. The ceremony took place at the Paloma Mizuho Stadium in Aichi-Nagoya, where Kabaddi player Pawan Sehrawat and two-time Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker were the flag bearers.
Quimcy began the semi-final at a high tempo, racing to a 5-1 lead and then stretching that advantage to 8-2 before closing out the opening set 12-7. Her fast start set the tone in the first set and put pressure on Sumaya to respond. The initial set win left Quimcy with momentum heading into the second set.
The second set was tight throughout, with the scoreline moving around 6-6 and 8-8 as both players exchanged points. Sumaya raised her intensity in the latter stages of that set and prevailed 9-12 to level the match. That second-set win shifted the balance and forced a deciding third set.
In the decider Quimcy moved ahead early and led 7-3 before Sumaya mounted a sustained run. Sumaya then produced nine consecutive points to take the final set 7-12 and secure her place in the gold-medal match. Score: 12-7, 9-12, 7-12…
Quimcy will face Japan’s Yuina Sakamoto in the women’s singles bronze-medal match; Sakamoto was the top seed and Quimcy had beaten her after a comeback in the league stage. Quimcy also pairs with Mohammad Anas in the mixed doubles bronze match, where they will play a Vietnamese pair for a medal.
From Sunday India will have multiple medal matches as they pursue a target to better the 106 medals won at the previous edition, with Quimcy’s two bronze contests among the early opportunities on that front.