Jay Meena Bronze Medal:  Before etching his name in the history books, 26-year-old Indian soft tennis player Jay Meena once thought of pursuing cricket as a profession. However, fate had other plans. When he joined Pioneer Public School, Meena found himself drawn to the world of soft tennis. Starting as a ball boy, he would stand by the court and observe the intricacies of the sport. Years later, he secured India’s first-ever Asian Games medal in soft tennis. It was a bronze, but for someone whose school years were far from ideal and who was even rusticated for his notorious behaviour, the achievement meant much more.

Now an Asian Bronze medallist, Meena, at the age of 10, was rusticated from Ebenazer Higher Secondary School in Dewas, a small town near Indore, after he set off a firecracker under the principal's desk. "My family was very upset with me, and after that, no school was willing to give me admission," Jay recalled. 

Recalling his notorious school days, Jay Meena termed his rustication the turning point of his life, which eventually led him to Soft Tennis. "Looking back, I feel it's all written in my destiny. Of course, if I hadn't been rusticated from that school, I wouldn't have been able to join Pioneer Public School, play for India, and win medals for India. So it's all destined," he said.

The much-needed help came from Pioneer Public School and its sports coach, Sudesh Sangte, who told his father, "If you don't want to keep the kid at home, send him here to play." Sangte, now a national soft tennis coach, told Jay that he had to enrol in the sports academy to get admission to the school. 

Fascinated and inspired by India's superstar javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, Meena's journey started, and in 2024, he won India's first-ever mixed doubles Bronze medal alongside Aadhya Tiwari at the World Soft Tennis Championships.

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How Meena Found Soft Tennis?

Sudesh Sangte, the soft tennis coach at the Pioneer Public School, saw something extraordinary that teachers may have overlooked. Recalling Meena's agility, he said, "He was full of mischief, always restless and good at almost every sport. That helped him because soft tennis requires a lot of movement and running. The game demands strength, speed, and a lot of skill. You have to cover the entire court."

Working diligently with Sangte for around 10 years, Meena gave the result they had been waiting for. With a medal in hand, Meena is now sure that the same teachers who once considered him a notorious kid are now proud of him. "They tell me, 'If you hadn't been rusticated from that school, you wouldn't have been here today. You were just a normal kid."

That school change at the age of 10 redirected his course of life, leading to the international circuit and emerging as one of India's leading soft tennis players. "It's funny when I think about it now. Something that felt so bad at the time eventually changed my life completely."

Image Credit: (PTI)

Asian Games Medal Equivalent To Olympic Medal

Since soft tennis is not part of the Olympics, the win at the 2026 Asian Games feels like an Olympic medal, Jay said. "This feels like an Olympic medal to me because soft tennis is not part of the Olympics. The Asian Games are like the Olympics of Asia, and all the major countries in our sport were here. To win a medal among them is a huge achievement. So, for me and for my country, this is an Olympic medal."

Continuing to make history, Jay Meena clinched his major title at the 2024 World Soft Tennis Championships, where he won India's first-ever mixed doubles Bronze medal alongside Aadhya Tiwari. In 2025, he made the headlines by winning Bronze in the men's singles event at the Asian Soft Tennis Championships after reaching the semi-finals.

After taking part in Jakarta in 2018 and Hangzhou in 2023, the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games was his third appearance. With Jay Meena's medal win, soft tennis, which originated in Nepal in 1884, now became a much-talked-about sport nationwide. 

Image Credit: (PTI)

Soft Tennis Push For CWG20230

After winning an Asian Games medal, Jay Meena hopes that the sport grows a lot across the country and is included at the 2030 Commonwealth Games in Ahmedabad. He said, "Looking ahead to the 2030 Commonwealth Games in India, I really hope soft tennis is included. If soft tennis is included in the 2030 Commonwealth Games, I believe India can sweep all gold medals (five). Among the Commonwealth countries, India is No. 1." 

"The biggest advantage is that the government would not have to develop completely separate infrastructure for soft tennis. The sport can be played on the same synthetic, clay and grass courts used for tennis," he said. 

He concludes by saying that, "There are already lakhs of courts across India. We have courts, hostels and sporting infrastructure; what we need is to add soft tennis to that ecosystem and promote the sport."

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