Quimcy Dsouza's Asian Games heartbreak: Indian teqball star falls short

Quimcy Dsouza

Quimcy Dsouza's Asian Games campaign ended in heartbreaking fashion as the Indian teqball player went down 0-2 to Japan's world No. 7 Yuina Sakamoto in the women's singles bronze medal match here on Saturday.Despite the straight-set defeat, the 11-12, 11-12 scoreline hardly reflects how close the Mumbai player came to claiming the bronze. With a partisan home crowd backing Sakamoto, Dsouza pushed the Japanese star all the way in both sets, only to miss out by the narrowest of margins.

The Indian had a set point in the opening game but could not convert it. She then appeared to be on course to force a decider after racing into a 10-8 advantage in the second set.Sakamoto, however, fought back to earn match point. Dsouza refused to go down without a fight, saving it with a winner to keep her hopes alive. But her comeback ended moments later when she committed a foul, handing Sakamoto the point needed to close out the match.

Women's singles teqball follows a best-of-three format, with the first player to win two sets advancing. A set is won by the first player to reach 12 points. In the opening two sets, a one-point margin is enough, while a deciding third set requires a player to establish a two-point advantage.

For Dsouza, the bronze-medal defeat capped a dramatic Asian Games debut. She had already stunned Sakamoto in the group stage, defeating the Japanese world No. 7 before eventually meeting her again with a medal at stake.Teqball, which made its Asian Games debut at the 20th edition of the continental event, is a non-contact sport combining elements of football and table tennis. Players rally a standard football across a specially curved table resembling a table tennis table, using any part of their body except their hands and arms. Each side can make a maximum of three touches before returning the ball.