- 21 September, 2026
Mumbai, September 21, 2026: For Quimcy Dsouza and Declan Gonsalves, teqball was once little more than an unfamiliar sport played with friends at weekends. In 2026, it became the stage on which they represented India at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
Both athletes grew up in Mumbai and began their sporting journeys with football before discovering teqball. What started as a recreational activity gradually became a serious pursuit, demanding years of training alongside jobs and family responsibilities.
Their journeys are particularly significant because teqball remains relatively unknown in India. Yet Quimcy and Declan have helped show that an emerging sport can produce athletes capable of competing at international level.
Quimcy Dsouza’s sporting journey began with athletics when she was young before she moved into football. She eventually represented Maharashtra at under-19 level.
In 2022, she took up teqball and quickly established herself as one of India's leading players. She has gone on to become a seven-time national champion and reached as high as No. 24 in the world rankings.
Her achievements have come alongside professional responsibilities. With a degree in sports management, she works as a test engineer for a sports goods retailer and has also helped build the Teqball Club of Bengaluru.
At the 2026 Asian Games, she competed in women’s singles and mixed doubles. Her singles campaign included a notable victory over Japan’s top seed Yuina Sakamoto before she progressed to the semi-finals. Although she eventually missed out on a medal after losing the bronze-medal play-off, her performances placed Indian teqball firmly in the spotlight.
Declan Gonsalves followed a similar path. Having grown up playing football in Mumbai, he was introduced to teqball and began playing with friends, including Quimcy and Anas Baig.
The casual weekend activity soon developed into a serious sporting ambition.
Gonsalves and Baig became a formidable men's doubles partnership, remaining unbeaten at the National Championships for five years. Their biggest breakthrough came at the 2024 World Championships in Vietnam, where they won bronze — India's first-ever teqball medal at an international or World Championship event.
The duo also finished fifth at the Teqball World Series in Beijing, underlining their ability to compete against established international players.
Declan also works in content and operations for an online portal, balancing his professional life with demanding training and competition schedules.
For both athletes, sport is not pursued in isolation. Their Christian faith and families have been an important part of their journeys.
Declan has spoken about his mother’s approach to his competitions. She attends matches but, rather than watching him play, stays nearby praying. His father follows the results and offers quiet encouragement.
Quimcy's family has also played a central role. Her father was a national-level football and hockey player, giving her a sporting environment from an early age. She has described how he may not always congratulate her after victories, but is consistently present when she loses — a form of support she deeply values.
Their stories reveal the often unseen foundation beneath sporting achievements: prayer, family sacrifice, employment and perseverance.
At the 2026 Asian Games, neither athlete returned with a medal from their individual campaigns. Declan's first-round exit and Quimcy's fourth-place finish after losing the bronze-medal play-off could easily have become the defining headlines.
Instead, their journeys have offered something broader.
By wearing India's colours at teqball's Asian Games debut, Quimcy and Declan have introduced the sport to millions who may never have heard of it. Their determination to coach young players, build communities and promote teqball shows that their ambitions extend beyond personal medals.
Their greatest achievement may ultimately be inspiring the next generation of Indians to pick up a ball, approach the curved table and discover a sport that two young Christians from Mumbai helped bring to the continental stage.
For Quimcy and Declan, the Asian Games may have ended without a medal. But the story they are helping build for Indian teqball is only beginning.
By Catholic Connect Reporter
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