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Jay Meena claims India’s first Asian Games medal in soft tennis
Jay Meena won India’s first Asian Games medal in soft tennis, claiming the bronze in the men’s singles event at the Aichi-Nagoya Games on Wednesday.
The 26-year-old Indian went down 2-4 to Japan’s Takuya Kurosaka in the semifinals, ending his hopes of reaching the gold-medal match. Meena, trailing by three games, fought back but could not pull off the comeback, losing 3-5, 1-4, 1-4, 4-1, 6-4, 1-4 in a 45-minute contest, PTI reported.
Meena took the historic medal beating Sherwin Nuguit of the Philippines 4-3 in a closely-fought quarterfinal earlier Wednesday. He reached the last four with 0-4, 4-2, 2-4, 4-2, 5-3, 2-4, 7-5 victory.
At his third Asian Games, The Dewas, Madhya Pradesh athlete is competing. He won gold in men’s singles at the 2022 National Games and became the national champion in 2025.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Meena, terming the bronze as a “historic achievement” for Indian soft tennis.