Nagoya, India's Quimcy Dsouza's spirited campaign endured a heartbreaking double setback on Sunday, narrowly missing out on a women's singles bronze before returning minutes later to lose the mixed doubles bronze-medal clash alongside Mohamed Anas Beg at the Asian Games here on Sunday.
The Mumbai girl pushed Japanese world No. 7 Yuina Sakamoto all the way in the singles bronze-medal match, going down 0-2 , before the physical toll of an intense battle caught up with her in the mixed doubles contest, where the Indian pair lost to Vietnam's Hoang Minh Tan Nguyen and Gia Ngih Trinh 0-2 .
Playing in front of a partisan home crowd, Sakamoto may have won in straight sets but the scoreline did little justice to the fight Quimcy produced.
Deep Dive
What is the format of teqball matches at the Asian Games?
Why did Quimcy Dsouza struggle during her mixed doubles match after her singles loss?
How has India's performance in teqball evolved leading to the Asian Games?
The match is played in a best-of-three sets format, with the first player to win two sets taking the contest.
Quimcy had a set point in the opening game and then raced to a 10-8 lead in the second as she looked to force a decider.
She even saved a match point and served a winner, only to commit a foul that handed Sakamoto the match.
{{/usCountry}}She even saved a match point and served a winner, only to commit a foul that handed Sakamoto the match.
{{/usCountry}}There was barely any time to recover as moments after her singles loss, Quimcy was back on court alongside Anas for their mixed doubles bronze-medal clash against the Vietnamese pair.
Trailing 5-9 in the second game, the physical toll of playing two intense matches in little over an hour began to show.
Quimcy grimaced in pain as her lower back was massaged before she took a 10-minute medical timeout.
She returned with a strapped waist but could not sustain the momentum, with the Indian duo eventually going down 0-2 .
Despite the heartbreaking finishes in both events, India's deep run in the tournament underlined the country's rapid progress in a sport that is still relatively new back home.
As per the rules, the first player to reach 12 points wins a set. In the first two sets, a player can win by a single point, while if the match goes to a deciding third set, the winner must secure a two-point margin to seal the issue.
Teqball is a non-contact sport that combines a bit of football and table tennis, played by hitting a standard football back and forth over a specially curved TT-like table.
Players use any part of their body except their hands and arms, with a maximum of three touches allowed per side to return the ball.
The sport made its debut at the 20th edition of the continental showpiece.
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