Six categories were contested at the Jammu District Soft Tennis Championship. Players training at the Khelo India Soft Tennis Centre at MA Stadium won all six.
They did it on their own court, over three days — 20 to 22 August — across two tournaments run back to back by the Jammu and Kashmir Soft Tennis Association: the Khelo India Asmita Jammu City League 2026-27 and the Jammu District Soft Tennis Championship 2026-27.
The gold medallists
In the Asmita Jammu City League, the golds went to Sidhani Singh (Senior Girls), Shreemai Bhat (Junior Girls) and Sanvi Parihar (Sub-Junior Girls).
In the District Championship: Soham Bhat (Senior Boys), Sidhani Singh (Senior Girls), Shreemai Bhat (Junior Girls), Harikesh Dutt Sharma (Junior Boys), Vihan Singh Bhau (Sub-Junior Boys) and Svadhi Sharma (Sub-Junior Girls).
Sidhani Singh and Shreemai Bhat took their categories in both events.
Why a district sweep is worth reporting
Because of where these players train. The Khelo India Soft Tennis Centre sits inside MA Stadium, in the middle of Jammu city — a government-funded centre, not a private academy, and one that a school-age player can reach on an ordinary evening.
Soft tennis itself is not a curiosity. It is an Asian Games discipline, which means the ceiling on this is genuinely international rather than regional. And Jammu has form here already: in July we wrote about four Jammu teenagers taking a national podium in the same sport, out of the same centre. Harikesh Dutt Sharma, one of this week's gold medallists, is among the names that have already competed at national level.
The chief guest at the closing was Arshi Nath, Judo Head Coach and In-charge Manager of the Old Indoor Complex at MA Stadium under the J&K Sports Council. Also present were Shakir, the association's UT General Secretary, and association member Bilal.
One thing the reports do not say is what these results qualify anyone for next, and we are not going to guess at it. What they do establish is narrower and still worth something: a free, state-run coaching centre in the middle of Jammu is currently producing the best under-19 soft tennis players in the district, in every age group, for both boys and girls. If you are twelve and looking for a sport where the pathway is short and the competition is local, that is a real piece of information.
Sources: Greater Kashmir, Brighter Kashmir and Kashmir Horizon.
