Aichi-Nagoya, Sep 23: India’s Jay Meena scripted history at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Wednesday by reaching the men’s singles semi-finals and assuring the country of its first-ever Asian Games medal in soft tennis.
Competing in his third Asian Games, Meena fought past the Philippines’ Sherwin Nuguit 4-3 in a thrilling seven-game quarter-final to book his place in the last four.
Meena recovered from a difficult start to prevail 0-4, 4-2, 2-4, 5-3, 2-4, 7-5 in a closely contested encounter.
The semi-final berth guarantees India its maiden Asian Games medal in soft tennis. Meena had previously represented the country at the 2018 and 2022 editions of the Games.
Earlier, Meena had defeated Pakistan’s Arain Hussain 4-0 in the men’s singles Group D to progress to the quarter-finals.
He will now look to go a step further in the semi-finals and secure a place in the gold medal match.
India also secured a bronze medal in the women’s skeet team event, with Raiza Dhillon, Parinaaz Dhaliwal and Maheshwari Chauhan combining for 331 points.
Raiza and Parinaaz scored 111 each out of 125, while Maheshwari contributed 109. China won gold with 346 points, while Kazakhstan took silver.
Meanwhile, two-time Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker advanced to the women’s 10m air pistol individual final after producing a strong qualification performance. Fellow Indians Suruchi Inder Singh and Esha Singh failed to make the final.
No direct quotes from Meena, coaches or officials were available in the information provided.
