Jay Meena Makes History with Bronze in Soft Tennis at Asian Games 2026

Historic Achievement in Soft Tennis

Jay Meena has made history by clinching India's inaugural Asian Games medal in soft tennis, securing a bronze in the men's singles category at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026 on Wednesday.

Meena's journey concluded in the semi-finals, where he faced Japan's Takuya Kurosaka. After losing the first three sets, he mounted a remarkable comeback, winning the fourth and fifth sets to narrow the score to 2-3. However, Kurosaka ultimately triumphed in the sixth set with a score of 4-1, finalizing the match at 3-5, 1-4, 1-4, 4-1, 6-4, 1-4.

Path to the Semi-Finals

Earlier, Meena secured his semi-final spot by defeating Sherwin Nuguit from the Philippines in a thrilling quarter-final match. With all semi-finalists guaranteed a medal, his victory ensured India would achieve a historic podium finish in this sport.

India's Overall Medal Count

With this bronze medal, India's total medal count at the Games has reached 10, which includes one gold and seven medals in shooting, along with golds in cricket and mixed martial arts through Suchika Tariyal. India currently stands eighth in the medal rankings, while China leads with a total of 60 medals.

Additional Medals in Shooting

On the same day, India also earned bronze medals in both the men's and women's skeet team events. The women's team, consisting of Raiza Dhillon, Parinaaz Dhaliwal, and Maheshwari Chauhan, finished third with a combined score of 331. The men's team, featuring Anantjeet Singh Naruka, Mairaj Ahmed Khan, and Bhavtegh Singh Gill, secured bronze after a shoot-off victory against Kazakhstan.

Updates from Other Sports

In other sporting events, Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker placed fifth in the women's 10m air pistol final. Additionally, India's women's kabaddi team triumphed over Iran with a score of 37-23 in their Group A match.

In rowing, Balraj Panwar qualified for the men's single sculls final, while Satnam Singh and Salman Khan advanced to the men's double sculls final. The women's four crew also made it to Final A.

The men's kayak four 500m team reached the final, and Megha Pradeep along with Parvathy Geetha-Phairembam Soniya Devi progressed to the semi-finals in the women's canoe single 200m and kayak double 500m events, respectively.