India’s soft tennis campaign entered the history books after Jay Meena secured a historic bronze at the Asian Games.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Meena on Wednesday. Meena became India’s first-ever Asian Games medallist in soft tennis.
“A historic achievement for Indian Soft Tennis! Congratulations to Jay Meena on winning Bronze in the Men’s Individual event and becoming India’s first-ever Asian Games medallist in Soft Tennis. His achievement marks a memorable new chapter for the sport in India. May this medal inspire many more youngsters to take up Soft Tennis and excel. Best wishes to him for the journey ahead,” PM Modi said in a post on X.
A historic achievement for Indian Soft Tennis!
Congratulations to Jay Meena on winning Bronze in the Men’s Individual event and becoming India’s first-ever Asian Games medallist in Soft Tennis. His achievement marks a memorable new chapter for the sport in India.
May this medal… pic.twitter.com/UMrKAyLrnY
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) September 23, 2026
Meena’s Historic Rise
Meena secured bronze after losing 2-4 to Japan’s Takuya Kurosaka in the men’s singles semifinal in Nagoya on Wednesday.
Meena trailed 3-5 against Sherwin Nuguit but won four straight points to seal a memorable quarterfinal comeback.
The 4-3 victory sent him into the last four and secured India’s maiden Asian Games medal in soft tennis.
Meena’s rise began unexpectedly. He initially wanted to pursue cricket. At Pioneer Public School in Dewas, he watched soft tennis players and worked as a ball boy before taking up the sport.
He advanced through school, district, state and national competitions. At 14, he competed internationally in Japan, the birthplace of soft tennis.
The Madhya Pradesh player won men’s singles gold at the 36th National Games in Gujarat in 2022. He reached the 2022 Asian Games quarterfinals in Hangzhou and competed in the team event.
In 2024, Meena and Aadhya Tiwari won mixed doubles bronze at the World Soft Tennis Championships, giving India its first medal there.
In 2025, he became India’s first Asian Soft Tennis Championships medallist, winning singles bronze and four medals overall.
Competing at his third Asian Games after Jakarta 2018 and Hangzhou 2022, Meena has now achieved India’s first Asian Games soft tennis medal.
Also Read: Asian Games 2026: PM Modi Hails Mirabai Chanu, Indian Skeet Teams After Bronze Medals
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