Asian Games 2026: Jay Meena Scripts History, Assures India’s First-Ever Soft Tennis Medal After Thrilling Semi-Final Qualification

NAGOYA, Japan -- South Korea's soft tennis team concluded its medal competition at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games by securing three bronze medals on Wednesday following a disappointing performance in the singles events. In the men's singles quarterfinals at Nagoya City Higashiyama Park Tennis Center, Lee Ha-neul fell 4-2 to Chinese Taipei's Che Po-yi.

After a 2-2 tie in the first four games, Lee lost two consecutive sets and was unable to advance to the semifinals. Soft tennis singles matches follow a best-of-seven format, with the first player to win four games claiming victory.

In the women's singles quarterfinals, Lee Su-jin was defeated 4-2 by Japan's Rena Temma, while South Korea's Hwang Jeong-mi lost 4-2 to North Korea's Ri Jin-mi. Despite holding the match at 2-2 against the Japanese player, Lee Su-jin was unable to mount a comeback. In an all-Korean encounter, Hwang leveled the score at 2-2 before Ri won the next two games to secure a spot in the semifinals, resulting in North Korea's first bronze medal at the Asian Games in Japan.

Ri So-hyang, Ri Jin-mi's teammate, also reached the women's singles semifinals with a 4-2 quarterfinal win over Thailand's Alisha Ziegler. Both Ri Jin-mi and Ri So-hyang's achievements will mark North Korea's first medal haul at the Asian Games in Japan. With the men's and women's singles events concluded, the soft tennis medal competition officially ended on Wednesday. South Korea earned three bronze medals in total – one from the men's and women's team events, and another from the mixed doubles event.