Pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in the world right now. It is fast and fascinating and is played by every age group, whether you are a teenager or over 50. It is regarded as one of the addictive sports, and if you master it, there is no going back.
The All India Pickleball Association(AIPA) recently organised the World Pickleball Championship series in Mumbai at CCI, Brabourne. The pickleball championship, which concluded on 12 November, saw 18 top countries participate, with 60+ top foreign players and 400+ Indian players, making it one of the largest global events of the sport.
Team India was the leading performer in this series as they stood out as a top-performing nation, clinching an impressive total of 28 medals, including 11 golds, and securing the coveted team event title.
The renowned Cricket Club of India in Mumbai is famous for its prestigious tennis courts, where legends have graced their foot and celebrated the memorable Davis Cup. The few bright tennis courts were divided and converted into small courts which were bustling with the players holding the paddles in their hands instead of racquets.
This venue is memorable as Aryna Sabalenka the top-ranked women’s singles tennis player experienced one of her first moments of triumph as a WTA champion seven years ago.
Talking about the matches, in the 19+ open category, India’s sonu Vishwakarma defeated Spain’s Mauro Garcia to clinch the gold medal. He led from the start, maintained his lead, and won by 21-14. At the same time, India’s Kuldip Mahajan defeated Taiwan’s Lin Guang Sian by 21-9 to claim the bronze medal. In the 35+ men’s singles category, Vietnam’s Carlos Rubio staged an amazing comeback to win the gold by defeating India’s Ankit Mody by a score of 21-19. At first, Ankit easily won the game as he was leading by 19-10 but failed to win the game despite leading. India’s Vivek Reddy defeated Rohan Salvi to secure a bronze medal in the same category, scoring 15-7.
Australia’s Andie Dikosavlijec and India’s Vrushali Thakare defeated Philippines’s Anna Clarice Patri and Australia’s Ludovica Sciaky to secure gold in the 19-plus women’s doubles category with the final score of 21-9.
Australia’s Nicola Schoeman and Danni-Elle Townsend defeated Aiko Yoshitomi and Mihika Yadav to secure bronze. India’s Priyanka Mehta and Shraddha Dhamani grabbed gold with the score of 21-6 by defeating Sindoor Mittal and Simran Bangera. Pooja Rao and Radhika Trivedi won bronze by defeating Shakuntala Devnani and Gayatri Mewada. In the 19+ women’s singles category Korea’s Mihae Kwon was struggling as she was injured but yet kept on the show and defeated Kate Morris by 21-10 to win the gold medal. India’s Mihika Yadav defeated Australia’s Daani-Elle Townsend by 15-4 to secure bronze. In the 35-plus women’s category, Priyanka Mehta secured the gold medal by defeating Gayatri Mewada by 15-6.
Coming to the Men’s double categories, in the 19-plus category Korea’s Kim Eung Gwon and India’s Mayur Patil defeated Australia’s George Wall and Lucas Pascoe with a score of 21-16 to secure gold.
Japan’s Kenta Miyoshi and India’s Stavya Bhasin defeated India’s pair of Tejas Mahajan and Vanshik Kapadia and secured the bronze medal by winning by 21-9. In the 35-plus category, India’s Nitten Kirttane and Vishal Jadhav won the gold medal by defeating Italy’s Marcello Bettinelli and Pep Giuliano with a score of 21-12. Niraj Jain and Sohel Makani defeated Vietnam’s Carlos Rubio and Spain’s Sergio Ruiz Caro easily to win the bronze model.
In the 19-plus mixed double, the successful pair of Vanshik and Vrushali was defeated by Australia’s Danni Elle Townsend and George Wall by 21-12 and won the gold medal. In the 35-plus mixed doubles category, India’s Isha Lakhani and Vishal Jadhav defeated Shraddha Damani and Carlos Rubio 21-6 to secure gold. Ankit Mody and Radhika Trivedi fought hard and defeated Sindoor Mital and Himanshu secured bronze.
The success of the WPC series shows the growing popularity of the sport in India. Our athletes have showcased exceptional skills and determination, making the nation proud. AIPA is committed to nurturing talented individuals and taking the sport to greater heights globally. This championship is a testament to the unifying power of sports and the potential of Indian athletes on the international stage, said Arvind Prabho (President of AIPA).
In the 50-plus men’s category, in the India final, Nitten Kirttane defeated Akhil Mathur to claim the gold medal with a score of 15-4 and on the other hand, Bhushan Akut defeated Sandeep Tawde with a score of 15-12 to win the bronze medal.
In the 50-plus men’s doubles category, India’s Sandeep Tawde and Nitten Kirttane defeated Akhil Mathur and Bhushan Akut to win the gold medal. Australia’s Chris Pascoe and Gordon Watson secured the bronze medal by defeating Pradeep Ramani and Thakurdas Rohira by 15-9.
In the 50-plus women’s singles category, India’s Shaks Devnani defeated Sushma Thakore by 15-3 to win the gold. In the 50-plus mixed doubles category, Bhushan Akut and Shakuntala Devnani were defeated by Bela Kotwani and Sandeep Tawde and won the gold. Thakurdas Rohira and Ruchi Shah clinched the bronze medal by defeating Nozer Amalsadiwala and Pradnya Shevni.
Looking at India’s dominance at the World Pickleball Championship 2024, it seems India is ready to take this new sport to the next level.
