Despite loss, India’s teqball story only just beginning

Representational image of teqball. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Nagoya: India’s Asian Games journey began in rather muted fashion at the Higashi Sports Centre here at 4:06 pm. There was no fanfare and barely any indication that history was being made.

A volunteer holding a placard was the only sign that an Asian Games event was under way.The sport was teqball — a little-known combination of football and table tennis — and India’s men’s doubles pair of Declan Gonsalves and Mohamed Anas went down fighting 10-12, 8-12 to Vietnam and 4-12, 7-12 to South Korea.

Their campaign ended, but for India’s small community of about 180 teqball athletes, the day marked the beginning of something bigger.

One of six sports making its Asian Games debut, teqball is played on a curved table resembling a table-tennis table. The sport originated in Hungary and is only 12 years old. In India, it has been around for barely four years.That hasn’t stopped a small band of ‘teqers’ from chasing their passion.On Thursday, six Indians in the stands cheered Gonsalves and Anas. Among them were India’s deputy chef de mission and former shooting stalwart Anjali Bhagwat, and Declan’s parents Derek and Deborah Gonsalves, who had flown in from Mumbai to witness a slice of history.

Anas will get another opportunity when he teams up with Quimcy Dsouza in the mixed doubles. Quimcy will also compete in the women’s singles.For the first generation of Indian teqers, the last four years have involved as much explaining as playing.“All the four years I have been playing the sport, I’ve only been explaining what it is. But the Asian Games is a huge opportunity for us,” said Bengaluru-based Quimcy, who quit her job in Mumbai and moved to the city to set up a teqball facility.She was drawn to the sport after watching videos of former Brazil football star Ronaldinho playing it on social media.“I started playing the sport around the time the last Asian Games was held. Back then, if somebody told me I would be playing in the Asian Games this year, I wouldn’t have believed it. This is a dream come true,” said Quimcy, one of a group of self-taught athletes who have now taken on coaching roles as well.

Nihar Shah, technical director of Teqball India, believes the sport is beginning to find a foothold, particularly in the Northeast, where several players have a background in sepaktakraw.“While it’s still new, there has been a lot of interest in it lately. We hope the Asian Games appearance of the three athletes gives it a further push,” Shah said.