‘It’s all destiny’: Jay Meena goes from school expulsion to Asian Games history

 From a notorious schoolboy who once set off a firecracker under his principal's desk to becoming India's first Asian Games medallist in soft tennis, Jay Meena's journey has had more twists than a racket sport usually allows.

The 26-year-old was just 10 when he was rusticated from Ebenazer Higher Secondary School in Dewas, a small town near Indore, due to his childhood mischief.

On Wednesday, he stood on the podium after winning a historic bronze at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games after losing 2-4 to local favourite and eventual champion Takuya Kurosaka of Japan in the semifinals.

The two losing semifinalists are awarded bronze medals in soft tennis, a racket sport originating in Japan and played on courts similar to conventional tennis but with a much lighter (about 31gm) rubber ball and lighter rackets.

"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 told PTI from Nagoya.

The journey

His parents -- Rameshwar Meena, a lawyer, and Sanjana -- were constantly worried about his childhood antics, but things reached a boiling point when they received a call from his school 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.

The help came from Pioneer Public School and its sports coach Sudesh Sangte, now the national soft tennis coach.

"He (Sangte sir) told my father, 'If you don't want to keep the kid at home, send him here to play.' The only condition was that I had to enrol in the sports academy. That is where my journey started," added Jay, a big fan of India's superstar javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra.

Sangte, a former national-level kho-kho player who had introduced soft tennis at the school, saw something in the restless child that even his teachers may not have recognised.

"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," Sangte said.

"He had the athletic ability, the energy and the willingness to learn. We have been working hard for around 10 years, and today he has given us the result we were waiting for."

Now as fate would have the same teachers 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.'"

"It's funny when I think about it now. Something that felt so bad at the time eventually changed my life completely."

That change took him from a school sports academy to the international circuit, with Jay emerging as one of India's leading soft tennis players.

At the 2024 World Championships in Mungyeong, South Korea, Jay and Aadhya won a mixed doubles bronze. At last year's Asian Championships in Mungyeong, India collected four bronze medals, including one by Jay in men's singles. But the Asian Games medal carried a different weight.

Worth the weight of an Olympic medal

"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," Jay said.

His route to the podium was not without heartbreak. India had five men and one woman competing across the soft tennis events, with the team participating in every event except the women's team competition.

"We had chances in the mixed doubles as well and the men's team lost in the quarters (one win away from a medal)," lamented Jay.

The individual semifinal against Kurosaka offered Jay a chance to go further. After falling 2-3 behind, he fought through games of 3-5, 1-4, 1-4, 4-1, 6-4 and 1-4 before bowing out.

"The last few days were very stressful after losing in mixed doubles and the team event. But my coach gave me a lot of strength and kept me going.

"And now, finally, we have won India's first-ever medal in soft tennis. But I think I should have won a gold medal. I really missed it..."

Moments after winning the medal he spoke to his mom on the phone.

"She couldn't even speak properly. Her hands were shaking and she was crying. That was a very emotional moment for me."

"My family, my coach and the federation have all sacrificed a lot for this. My family, especially, has no idea what we go through here, but they have always supported me. So seeing my mother react like that made the medal even more special."

Soft tennis push for CWG2030

"This medal is for every Indian soft tennis player, and especially for the kids who dream of playing this sport. I hope soft tennis grows a lot in India because of this," Jay said.

"Maybe some kids will now say, 'If he can win a medal at the Asian Games for India, I can do it too.' That is the impact I want this medal to have on Indian soft tennis."

Jay hopes the bronze can open a larger door for the sport in India and is included at the 2030 Commonwealth Games in Ahmedabad.

"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."

"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," he signed off.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Bridge Desk. It is published from a syndicated feed)