NAGOYA: From football, to distance running to teqball, Quimcy Dsouza of Bengaluru has finally found her path. At the sport's debut in the Asian Games, the Indian has shown what this new-gen sport, played in tables of big tech offices in Chennai and Bengaluru can offer. Infact, currently, the sport is filled with part time players and part-time professionals pursuing other occupations. There are a bunch of others who took up this sport after it was included in the Asian Games' roster.
When it comes to enjoying the sport and if spectators are any kind of a reflection, the more than capacity Nagoya Higashi Sports Centre during the semifinal women’s match here sent the right signal.
In the middle, the game, played on a curved table similar in size to a table tennis table, still seems to be in its infancy. Sometimes, the efforts seemed labored while at times the finesse and swiftness a game holds was a wee bit off the track. There, of course, was the ebb and flow that kept the hundreds inside the stadium glued to the middle. Just like the game, new nomenclatures of shots like scorpion smashes and there of course are acrobatic moves with gravity defying overhead or scissor kicks among more professional players.
For Quimcy, who is still an unknown player back home, the table was her temple and every point she secured was celebrated with clenched fists. At one point of time, it seemed she would ensure India their first medal taking the first game with ease against her Indonesian opponent Sumaya. However, she lost the lead and the match and now has another shot at a medal, come Sunday’s bronze medal match. She may have lost but her journey has been an incredible one. A person donning many hats, the former footballer and long distance runner, is a Test manager at sports retailer Decathlon in Bengaluru and one of the founding members of Teqball Club of Bengaluru.
Firsts have a different meaning in sport and it always ensconces itself in the surreal. That feeling of firsts is matchless. She knew what that medal would mean not just to her but the entire sport in the country.
Pursuing an obscure sport has its own impediments – paying money from your own pocket to compete to finding partners to practice, which even Quimcy admitted after the match. She looked dejected and could not fathom what happened. There were tears when she recollected those days when she would struggle to find partners to play the sport. Born to a footballing family, the 24-year-old started with football but had to give up due to a ligament injury. Then she saw Brazilian great Ronaldinho playing the sport and that inspired her. Her footballing pedigree helped. Just for the record, she took up the sport when Ronalidnho was made the goodwill ambassador of International Federation of Teqball.
“I used to play football and when I had a career-threatening ligament injury I came across an Instagram reel where Ronaldinho was playing it,” she said. “He is my hero and I took up the sport. Being a footballer, I have good control of the ball with my feet, especially juggling.”
Playing without a coach or guide is not easy. Quimcy too faced difficulties while pursuing the sport. Now, when she spoke of what the medal would have meant to her, she teared up a bit. “I played for my teammates here and back home,” she said after the loss. “I think playing without any coach or guide, and without any support if we are here, it’s a big thing. I just want my country to know that I gave my best.”
Unlike Quimcy, Indonesian opponent Sumaya has had all the support from the country. They have a fully-funded government programme with a strong age group development strategy. A student still, Sumaya shifted to teqball two years ago from sepaktakraw. “I take nothing from her achievement, but it did help,” said Quimcy.
The tech professional from Bengaluru spoke about how she had managed during the last four years after taking up the sport. It was not easy. “Four years ago during the last Asian Games I joined teqball and this Games, I am playing,” she said. “It's a big thing for me. I have only dreamt about this day and playing at such a big platform gives me immense pleasure and it’s a dream that we as a team are carrying for every teqball player back in India.”
Without government help, Quimcy also recalled how they had to save whatever they could so that they could play in competitions. “In the last four years, we have not been funded and were playing tournaments from where we work full-time and then we save that money up to compete.”
The dream of winning a medal has not vanished at all. In fact, she and her mixed doubles partner Mohamed Anas Beg have a chance to win bronze on Sunday in the play-off. As for now, she is hoping the sport would grow exponentially in India.
