Nagoya, Sep 18 (IANS) Indian men’s soft tennis team, comprising Jay Meena, Yogesh Choudhary, Aryan Thakur, Aniket Patel and Om Yadav, concluded its Asian Games 2026 campaign with a 0–2 defeat against Indonesia in the quarterfinals.

Jay and Yogesh lost the first men's doubles tie to Tio Hutauruk and Fernendo Sanger 2–5, before Aryan Thakur lost to Bagus Pradewa 3–4. With this loss, India’s men’s team campaign come to an end at the Asian Games 2026.

However, the competition continues for the Indian athletes, with Jay and Aryan set to compete in the men’s singles on September 22. Jay will also feature in the Mixed Doubles on September 21.

Indian men began their campaign with a commanding 3-0 victory over Laos before suffering a 0-3 defeat to group toppers Chinese Taipei.

Needing a win in their final group encounter to secure a knockout berth, India responded strongly and defeated Mongolia 3-0 to progress to the last eight with four points from three ties.

India made a confident start against Laos as Jay and Yogesh clinched the opening doubles match 5-0. Aryan then registered a comfortable 4-0 victory in the singles contest before Aniket and Om completed the clean sweep with another dominant doubles win.

Chinese Taipei, however, proved a tougher challenge. Meena and Choudhary lost the first doubles match 0-5, while Thakur went down 1-4 in the singles tie. Patel and Yadav also suffered defeat in the second doubles match as India lost the contest 0-3.

With a quarter-final place at stake, the Indian players bounced back in style against Mongolia, sealing a comprehensive 3-0 win to finish behind Chinese Taipei in the group standings. Aniket and Om won the opening doubles match against Mongolia by 5-0, and Meena then registered a comfortable 4-0 victory in singles before Thakur and Choudhary completed the clean sweep with another dominant doubles win.

India’s campaign is being led by Jay, one of the country’s most accomplished soft tennis players in recent years. The Madhya Pradesh athlete represented India at the 2018 Asian Games and won the men’s singles gold medal at the 2022 National Games in Gujarat.

Meena also etched his name in history in 2024 when, alongside Aadhya Tiwari, he secured India’s first-ever medal at the World Soft Tennis Championships by winning bronze in mixed doubles. He followed it up by becoming national champion in 2025 and later claimed bronze in men’s singles at the Asian Soft Tennis Championships, becoming the first Indian to win a medal at the continental event.

--IANS

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