Jay Meena Makes History with India's First Asian Games Medal in Soft Tennis
Historic Achievement for Indian Soft Tennis
On September 23, President Droupadi Murmu extended her congratulations to Jay Meena, who made history by winning India's inaugural Asian Games medal in soft tennis, securing a bronze in the men's singles event at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026. The President described Meena's accomplishment as a "landmark moment for Indian Soft Tennis."
In a post on X, President Murmu praised Jay Meena for his groundbreaking achievement, emphasizing that this bronze medal would motivate young athletes to engage in the sport.
She stated, "A landmark moment for Indian Soft Tennis! Heartiest congratulations to Jay Meena on securing the Bronze Medal in the Men’s Singles Soft Tennis event at the Asian Games 2026. Your historic performance has earned India its first-ever medal in this discipline at the Games. This milestone achievement will inspire young athletes to pursue the sport and aim higher. May you continue to achieve greater success and bring glory to the nation."
Meena's journey concluded in the semi-finals, where he faced Japan's Takuya Kurosaka, losing with a score of 2-4. After dropping the first three sets, Meena rallied to win the fourth and fifth sets, narrowing the gap to 2-3.
However, Kurosaka clinched the sixth set 4-1, finalizing the match with a score of 3-5, 1-4, 1-4, 4-1, 6-4, 1-4, as reported by ESPN.
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 a historic podium finish in this sport.
On the same day, India added multiple medals to its tally at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026, currently ranking 13th in the medal standings with a total of 12 medals.
Mirabai Chanu earned a silver medal in the women's 49kg weightlifting category, while the Indian men's badminton team secured a bronze after a 3-1 defeat to China in the semi-finals.
In shooting, the trio of Raiza Dhillon, Parinaaz Dhaliwal, and Maheshwari Chauhan won bronze in the women's skeet team event, while Anantjeet Singh Naruka, Mairaj Ahmed Khan, and Bhavtegh Singh also claimed bronze in the men's skeet team event.