Jay Meena secures India’s first soft tennis medal at Asian Games 2026

Jay Meena clinched India’s first-ever soft tennis medal at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan on Wednesday, taking bronze after losing the men’s singles semi-final to Japan’s Takuya Kurosaka.

The 26-year-old from Madhya Pradesh reached the semi-finals at his third Asian Games by defeating the Philippines’ Sherwin Nuguit in a seven-game quarter-final, winning 4-3. The quarter-final game scores were (0-4, 4-2, 2-4, 4-2, 5-3, 2-4, 7-5).

In the semi-final against Kurosaka, Meena lost the opening three games before winning the fourth and fifth. Kurosaka then took the sixth game to secure a 4-2 victory, with the match ending in 45 minutes and the game-by-game score recorded as (3-5, 1-4, 1-4, 4-1, 6-4, 1-4).

Meena had previously won a gold medal at the 2022 National Games. He reached the quarter-finals in the men’s singles event at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games and earned a bronze medal in mixed doubles at the 2024 World Soft Tennis Championship.

Meena is already considered one of India’s finest soft tennis players. The Indian Olympic Association shared a post on its @weareteamindia account, and Meena has taken another step towards further enhancing his growing recognition.

Meena won a bronze medal in the men’s singles soft tennis event at the Aichi-Nagoya Games 2026, securing India’s first-ever soft tennis medal at the Asian Games.