India’s rise in emerging sports at the 2026 Asian Games gathered more momentum as Jay Meena scripted history in soft tennis. The Madhya Pradesh athlete secured the country’s first-ever Asian Games medal in the sport, sealing a bronze.
Jay Meena made history by reaching the semifinals, securing India a historic medal at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya. Meena edged past the Philippines’ Sherwin Nuguit in a gripping seven-game contest, sealing a 4-3 (0-4, 4-2, 2-4, 4-2, 5-3, 2-4, 7-5) victory to book a place in the semifinals.
India broke ground in new sports at the Asian Games after Suchika Tariyal secured a historic bronze medal win despite a controversial finish to her match. Jay also made history after sealing a historic first in soft tennis, a racquet sport which branched from lawn tennis.
Who is Jay Meena? How did he find soft tennis?
Like every young kid, Jay aspired to be a cricketer and had a keen interest towards the sport. But everything changed when he joined Pioneer Public School in Dewas, where he came across a soft tennis court.
His curiosity about the game was piqued, and he started helping as a ball boy. He gradually began playing, advancing from school competitions to district-level events, state-level events, and eventually the nationals. At the age of 14, Jay began competing internationally in Japan, the country where soft tennis originated.
More from SportsJay’s interest towards the sport established him as one of India’s leading soft tennis players. His biggest achievement came in 2022 when he won the gold medal in men’s singles at the 36th National Games in Gujarat.
By 2025, the Indian athlete became the men’s singles national champion.
He also contributed to the men’s team and doubles action, helping Madhya Pradesh deliver medal-winning performances.
Jay made history in several stages
Jay has made history in soft tennis on multiple occasions. In 2024, he won India’s first-ever mixed doubles bronze medal alongside Aadhya Tiwari at the World Soft Tennis Championships.
The athlete’s medal-winning spree continued in 2025 when he became the first Indian to win a bronze in the men’s singles event at the Asian Soft Tennis Championships after reaching the semi-finals.
Jay made his third Asian Games appearance after Jakarta in 2018 and Hangzhou in 2023. He is now India’s first-ever Asian Games medallist in softball.