After a creditable fourth-place finish by a couple of Indians in teqball, Jay Meena on Wednesday assured India of a first medal in soft tennis. India are breaking new ground in newer sports at these Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. It will be the country’s first-ever medal in soft tennis at the multi-sport continental event.
Singles semifinalists in soft tennis are assured a bronze. Meena scripted a fine comeback against his Filipino opponent. The scoring system is also unique. The first to four points wins the game, but tighter games can go a bit longer. Matches are usually best of seven or nine games.
The 26-year-old defeated Sherwin Nuguit of The Philippines 4-3 in a thrilling men’s singles quarter-final to earn his spot in the last four. After losing the first game 4-0, he won the next 4-2 and the back and forth continued for the next couple of games. Meena pulled off the crucial fifth game 5-3, but Nuguit came roaring back in the next game to make the contest a one-game shootoff. The Indian held his nerve brilliantly in that, pulling off the game 7-5 to complete the 0-4, 4-2, 2-4, 4-2, 5-3, 2-5, 7-5 victory. Instead of the 15-30-40 games in tennis, here it’s a simpler 1-2-3 point system.
In the semi-final, to be played later on Wednesday, the Indian will take on Japan’s Takuya Kurosaka for a place in the gold medal match.
