India Reach Soft Tennis Men’s Team Quarter-Finals at Asian Games 2026

India have advanced to the quarter-finals of the men’s team soft tennis competition at the Asian Games 2026, securing second place in Group C after a mixed but ultimately successful campaign.

The Indian team of Jay Meena, Yogesh Choudhary, Aryan Thakur, Aniket Patel and Om Yadav finished the group stage with two victories from three ties. India opened their campaign with a commanding 3-0 win over Laos, suffered a 0-3 defeat against Chinese Taipei, and then bounced back strongly to beat Mongolia 3-0 in their final group fixture.

The result against Mongolia confirmed India’s passage into the knockout stage, with the team finishing second behind Chinese Taipei on four points. The quarter-final was scheduled for 11:30 AM, with India now just one victory away from securing a place in the medal rounds.

India began their Asian Games campaign with an emphatic performance against Laos. The opening doubles pairing of Jay Meena and Yogesh Choudhary set the tone with a 5-0 victory. The momentum continued in the singles, where Aryan Thakur produced another straight victory, winning 4-0. With the tie already secured, Aniket Patel and Om Yadav completed the clean sweep in the second doubles match, also winning 5-0.

The 3-0 victory gave India an ideal start in Group C and placed them in a strong position ahead of their next challenge against Chinese Taipei.

The second group tie proved significantly more difficult. India faced a strong Chinese Taipei side and eventually went down 0-3, with all three matches going in favour of their opponents. In the opening doubles match, Jay Meena and Yogesh Choudhary were defeated 0-5 by Kai-Wen Yu and Wei-Chieh Lin.

Aryan Thakur then took on Yu-Sang Chang in the singles. The Indian fought hard but lost the contest 1-4. The third match saw Aniket Patel and Om Yadav face Po-Yi Chen and Yu-Hsun Chen. The Chinese Taipei pair prevailed 5-1, completing a 3-0 victory for their team. Despite the defeat, India remained in contention for qualification. The focus immediately shifted to the final group match against Mongolia, where a victory would secure a place in the quarter-finals.

India Bounces Back Against Mongolia

India responded exactly as required. Facing Mongolia in their final Group C fixture, the Indian men’s team produced another dominant 3-0 result. The victory ensured that India finished the preliminary round with two wins and moved into the knockout phase. With Chinese Taipei finishing ahead of India, the Indian team secured second place in Group C with four points.

The progression was particularly important given the format of the competition. After the setback against Chinese Taipei, India needed to deliver against Mongolia, and the team did so without dropping a match. The 3-0 victory also provided a confidence boost heading into the quarter-finals, where the level of competition is expected to increase further.

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The Indian squad combines experience with Asian Games debutants. Aryan Thakur, Om Yadav and Yogesh Choudhary are making their Asian Games debuts, while Jay Meena is a TAGG athlete. Their campaign therefore represents an important opportunity for a group of Indian players to gain experience on one of the biggest multi-sport stages in Asia. Meena and Choudhary have already played a key role in the team's campaign, featuring together in the opening doubles match against both Laos and Chinese Taipei. Thakur has also taken responsibility in the singles position, while Patel and Yadav have formed India's second doubles combination.

The team structure has allowed India to use different players across the three-match ties while maintaining a consistent competitive unit.

India's qualification for the quarter-finals means the team is now only one victory away from entering the medal stage of the Asian Games soft tennis competition. The group campaign demonstrated two contrasting sides of the Indian team. Against Laos and Mongolia, India produced clean 3-0 victories. Against Chinese Taipei, they faced a significantly stronger challenge and were unable to win a match.

The quarter-final will therefore be another important test of India's ability to compete against the continent's established soft tennis teams. Soft tennis has a particularly strong competitive base in East Asia, making the Asian Games an important platform for Indian players to measure themselves against some of the sport's experienced nations. For Meena, Choudhary, Thakur, Patel and Yadav, the opportunity now moves beyond simply progressing from the group stage. A quarter-final victory would take India into the medal rounds and put the team within touching distance of an Asian Games podium.

After beginning with a 3-0 victory, recovering from a 0-3 loss and finishing the group stage with another 3-0 win, India have earned their place in the knockout stage.

The challenge now is clear: one more victory could take the Indian men’s soft tennis team into the Asian Games medal contention.