Indian teqball debutant Quimcy Joaquim Dsouza continued her impressive campaign at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, securing two wins in the Women’s Singles event to book her place directly in the semifinals on Friday.
Quimcy produced a strong comeback in her Group A, Match 2 encounter against Japan’s Yuina Sakamoto, recovering from a 10-12 loss in the opening game to win the next two games 12-11, 13-11 and seal a hard-fought 2-1 victory.
The Indian debutant followed it up with a convincing 2-0 win over Cambodia’s Koemyean DY in Group A, Match 3. Quimcy won the opening game 12-9 before closing out the match 12-7 to qualify directly for the semifinals of the Women’s Singles event.
With her singles campaign progressing strongly, Quimcy will now turn her attention to the Mixed Doubles event, where she will partner fellow Indian Mohamed Anas Imran Beg. The Indian pair will face the Philippines’ Jhoana Abulencia and Prince Agustin at 9:30 AM IST.
Later in the day, Cricket at the Asian Games 2026 gets underway, with the Indian women’s team taking on hosts Japan in the quarter-finals. Led by captain Harmanpreet Kaur, the defending champions will begin their gold-medal defence in a straight knockout clash at Korogi Sports Park.
India head into the Asian Games on the back of a record-extending eighth Asia Cup title, having defeated Sri Lanka in the final last week, while Japan will be appearing in the Asian Games cricket competition for the third time.
Ranked third in the T20I standings, India are the highest-ranked side in the eight-team women’s competition and will enter the tournament as one of the leading contenders for the title. The match against Japan will also mark the first-ever meeting between the two sides.
Meanwhile, Japan face a tough challenge against a strong Indian side. Ranked 39th in the women’s T20I team rankings, Japan will be making their third appearance in cricket at the Asian Games.
(ANI)
