Nagoya, An Instagram reel featuring Ronaldinho, an injury that forced her away from football and a curious connection with the letter 'Q' in teqball's logo Quimcy Dsouza's journey to the Asian Games has been anything but conventional.
Four years after stumbling upon the sport while recovering from a ligament injury, the former Maharashtra footballer and state-level 1,500m and 3,000m runner found herself playing an Asian Games semifinal on Saturday, just one win away from the final.
She fell short against Indonesia's Sumaya, but the defeat did little to dim the pride of a woman who has helped build the sport almost from scratch in India.
Deep Dive
How did Quimcy Dsouza transition from football to teqball?
What challenges has Quimcy faced in promoting teqball in India?
What accomplishments has Quimcy achieved in teqball?
"I think I did my best, honestly. I gave it whatever I had," Quimcy said after the three-game defeat. "We're only sad about the fact that we couldn't make it to the final, but I'm quite happy with what I performed. With what I have and what I had, I gave it my best."
That mindset perhaps explains the 24-year-old's unusual journey.
{{/usCountry}}That mindset perhaps explains the 24-year-old's unusual journey.
{{/usCountry}}A footballer recovering from injury, Quimcy happened to watch Brazilian great Ronaldinho playing teqball on Instagram. She gave it a try and, in her words, "from day one I fell in love with the sport".
There was even something about the sport's identity that felt personal.
"I've not mentioned it to anyone but teqball's logo, the 'Q', is what I feel is Quimcy, so I feel this sport is for me," she said with a smile.
She began playing in Mumbai with a small group of enthusiasts before moving to Bengaluru, where she now works as a test engineer at sports equipment giant Decathlon and trains at the Teqball Club of Bengaluru.
But Quimcy did not merely move cities to pursue her own ambitions. She wanted the sport to take root in southern India.
She founded and runs the Teqball Club of Bengaluru and has worked with young players, two of whom have gone on to represent India at the Asian Youth Games. A seven-time national champion, she has emerged as one of the pioneers of a sport that remains a niche pursuit in the country.
"It's been four years," she said. "I was an athlete before and post that I was a footballer. I did my distance running, 1,500 and 3,000m, at the state level and football for Maharashtra."
Her football background, she believes, gives her a small advantage in a sport where hands are forbidden and players rely on their feet, knees, chest and head to control a football on a curved table.
"Slightly an advantage for footballers because you do not use your hands, so you automatically start using your legs," she said.
But if football gave her the foundation, teqball demanded something else persistence. That has been in short supply for many aspiring Indian players because financial support has been limited.
"For the last four years we have not been funded. We work full-time and save that money for tournaments," Quimcy said.
The Asian Games, therefore, have been a different experience.
"For this time, when everything was sponsored by IOA and the team, it is overwhelming to have everything ready for us."
The significance of reaching this stage is not lost on her.
Four years ago, around the time of the Hangzhou Asian Games, Quimcy had just discovered teqball. Four years later, she was competing at the continental showpiece.
"I've dreamt about this day," she said. "Playing at such a big platform gives immense pleasure not just to me but all the Indian players who are here and the dreams we are carrying for teqball players back in India."
Teqball has already found a place in the European and African Games and is now part of the Asian Games, reflecting the sport's expansion.
For Quimcy, though, its growth is more than a statistic. She wants India to understand the sport and, more importantly, believe that there is a future in it.
"I played for my teammates here and for my teammates back in India and without any coach and without any guidance, without any support," she said. "If you are here, it's a big thing. I just want India to know that I gave it my best and want India to know what teqball is."
Her father, a former hockey and football player who is now an athletics and football coach, was also an influence in her sporting upbringing.
But Quimcy has forged her own path, combining a full-time career with elite sport and the painstaking work of developing a new discipline.
Even Saturday's semifinal defeat could not extinguish her ambition.
Quimcy led the opening game against Sumaya before the Indonesian, who has a sepak takraw background, fought back to win the next two.
She refused, however, to dwell on the collapse.
"I wouldn't say something went wrong today," she said. "This game is sometimes luck, sometimes hard work. Sometimes your smashes land, sometimes it doesn't go the way it has to. Not every ball is the same, not everything you do is similar."
She also acknowledged the advantage Indonesians can have in a sport that shares some technical similarities with sepak takraw.
After coming within a game of the final, Quimcy has no intention of letting the disappointment linger. The medal remains the target.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.