Jay Meena and Aadhya Tiwari will lead India’s soft tennis challenge at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-NagoyaCheck out the full story below.
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Jay Meena (R) and Aadhya Tiwari (L)
India’s soft tennis stars Jay Meena and Aadhya Tiwari will look to make history at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-NagoyaThe duo brings valuable international experience into the competition and will lead India’s six-member soft tennis squad in Japan.
Jay will compete in men’s singles, men’s team and mixed doubles, while Aadhya will feature in women’s singles and mixed doublesYogesh Choudhary, Om Yadav and Aniket Chirag Patel are part of the men’s team, while Aryan Thakur will compete in men’s singles and the team eventCoach Devanshi Hareshbhai Patel and physiotherapist Utsav Kumar Dubey are also part of the squad.
India reach soft tennis quarterfinals
India have already made a positive start in the men’s team eventThey defeated Laos 3-0 in their opening Group C match before suffering a 3-0 defeat against Chinese Taipei.
The Indian team bounced back strongly in their third match, beating Mongolia 3-0 to book a place in the quarterfinalsThe last-eight clash is scheduled to be played on Saturday.
Jay Meena’s journey from cricket to soft tennis
Jay, who hails from Dewas, Madhya Pradesh, took up soft tennis almost by chanceHe was initially interested in cricket and wanted to become a cricketerHowever, watching boys play soft tennis at a court near his school changed his path.
By the age of 14, Jay was competing internationallyHe represented India at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games before winning men’s singles gold at the 36th National Games in Gujarat.
In 2024, Jay and Aadhya created history by winning India’s first-ever medal at the World Soft Tennis Championships, taking bronze in mixed doublesJay later became the national champion in 2025 and won bronze in men’s singles at the 2025 Asian Soft Tennis ChampionshipHe also claimed bronze at the 2026 Sunchang Open.
We caught up with Jay Meena and Aadhya Tiwari, Indian Soft Tennis players, ahead of the Asian Games to hear about their preparation, mindset and the excitement of representing India on the international stage
The training is underway, the focus is locked in, and the… pic.twitter.com/hLV0a4K1dU
— SAI Media (@Media_SAI) September 17, 2026
TAGG support boosts Jay’s confidence
Jay was inducted into the Target Asian Games Group (TAGG) last year, receiving support for international competitions and national coaching camps.
“In 2018 I played my first Asian Games in JakartaIt was a very different experience of my lifeI came to know what the value of Asian Games isThis is my third Asian GamesIn China too, when the Asian Games were held in Hangzhou, I reached the quarterfinals in singles and there I lost very narrowlyBut this time, the Indian federation and Indian government have done a lot of hard work on the playersI want to thank the Sports Ministry and our government for their unprecedented supportWe had international camps; we stayed out of the country for four-five months, playing in Korea and Japan.
“I am in TAGG schemeI was provided equipment, which are generally imported, like racquets and balls etcfree of cost apart from shoes and playing kits and tracksuitsPlaying in Korea and Japan has boosted my confidenceBoth the countries organise leagues and tournaments throughout the year which helps the players keep in shapeYou develop good muscle memory and then when there is a pressure situation in the match your body doesn’t feel itWe have never won a medal at the Asian Games and this is our target coming to Japan this time,” Jay explained.
Aadhya Tiwari targets another big Asian Games performance
Aadhya, from Hoshangabad in Madhya Pradesh, started playing tennis at the age of threeHer father was a Ranji Trophy cricketer, but she eventually moved from lawn tennis to soft tennis.
“I learned tennis by myselfThen I was playing lawn tennis and was the Asia No6 seedI played lawn tennis quite well; almost until 2013After that, I went to a tournament, and there the soft tennis secretary from Madhya Pradesh approached me, saying, ‘Why don’t you try soft tennis?’ So, I was like, ‘Okay, sir, I’ll try once.’
“In my very first tournament, I got two bronze and one silver medal, and my name came up in the Junior World Championship, and Senior World ChampionshipEver since then, I have been continuing soft tennis because in lawn tennis, there were high costs involved,” Aadhya told SAI Media from Japan.
Aadhya is currently India No1 in soft tennis and represented India at the 2018 Asian Games at the age of 15She finished fifth in the women’s team event at the 2023 Hangzhou Games and won bronze in mixed doubles and mixed team events at the 2025 Asian Soft Tennis Championship.
“I am very thankful to the TAGG scheme because the camps we got helped our game develop and improve a lotSAI has helped us a lotThe training we got in the camps, and all the infrastructure, equipment, and even racquets – everything was provided by SAI, and the training went very well this timeIn Korea too, sir, there was a full one-month camp, and in Japan, a pre-Asian Games camp was held for 20 daysRight now, I would just say that there are high chances of getting a medal,” Aadhya said.
