Jay Meena had to settle for a silver medal after losing the soft tennis semifinal to Takuya Kurosaka of Japan at the Asian Games 2026 on Wednesday.
Updated: September 23, 2026, 1:19 PM IST
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India’s Jay Meena has won the bronze medal in soft tennis event at Asian Games 2026 on Wednesday(Source: X)
Asian Games 2026: It was a memorable Wednesday for 25-year-old soft tennis player Jay Meena from India, who became the first-ever medallist from the country in the sporting discipline at the Asian Games 2026Meena secured India’s first soft tennis medal, claiming a bronze after losing to Japan’s Takuya Kurosaka in the men’s singles semifinals.
Playing in his third Asian Games, the 26-year-old Meena fought valiantly after trailing by three games but could not sustain the momentum, losing 2-4 (3-5, 1-4, 1-4, 4-1, 6-4, 1-4) to Kurosaka in the 45-minute clashMeena, who hails from Madhya Pradesh’s Dewas and is a 2022 National Games gold-medallist, struggled to find his rhythm early on as Kurosaka surged to a lead, winning the first two games 5-3 and 4-1.
Meena aspired to be a cricketer initially and was drawn to the sport after joining Pioneer Public School in DewasBy the age of 14, he was already competing internationally in Japan, the home of Soft Tennis.
A new chapter in Indian sport!
Heartiest congratulations to Jay Meena on securing the Bronze Medal in the Men’s Singles Soft Tennis event at the #AsianGames2026.
With this historic achievement, Jay has won India’s first-ever Asian Games medal in Soft Tennis.
A landmark moment… pic.twitter.com/rt0pwIxW4G
— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) September 23, 2026
The Japanese player then moved further ahead by taking the third game 4-1, leaving Meena with little margin for errorWith his medal assured but a place in the final at stake, Meena mounted a strong fightback.
The Indian responded by taking the fourth game 4-1 and followed it up by edging a closely-contested fifth game 6-4 to reduce the deficit and keep his hopes of completing a remarkable comeback aliveHowever, home town star regrouped in the sixth game and closed out the contest 4-1 to book his place in the final, while Meena had to settle for the bronze.
What is difference between ‘soft tennis’ and tennis?
The main difference between the two sporting disciplines is that soft tennis uses a ‘soft rubber ball’, while regular tennis uses a firmer, ‘felt-covered ball’This changes the equipment and how the game feels.
Jay established himself among India’s leading Soft Tennis players with a gold medal in men’s singles at the 36th National Games in Gujarat in 2022He also contributed to Madhya Pradesh’s medal-winning performances in the men’s team and doubles events as wellBy 2025, he had further strengthened his credentials by becoming the National Champion in men’s singles.
Meena’s international breakthrough continued at the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou, where he reached the quarterfinals of the singles event and also represented India in the men’s team eventIn 2024, in partnership with Aadhya Tiwari, Jay created history by winning India’s first-ever medal at the World Soft Tennis Championships, securing Bronze in Mixed Doubles.
He achieved another major milestone at the Asian Soft Tennis Championships in 2025, becoming the first Indian to win a medal at the continental championships after reaching the men’s singles semi-finals and securing bronze there tooHe went on to win a total of four medals at the continental event.
Jay will is making his third Asian Games appearance, having previously represented India at Jakarta 2018 and Hangzhou 2023Earlier in the day, he had reached the semifinals after seeing off the Philippines’ Sherwin Nuguit 4-3 (0-4, 4-2, 2-4, 4-2, 5-3, 2-4, 7-5) in a fiercely contested quarterfinal.
He had earlier defeated Pakistan’s Arain Hussain 4-0 in Group D to qualify for the quarterfinalsMeena previously won a bronze medal in the mixed doubles event of the 2024 World Soft Tennis Championship.
