What is pickleball and why is it popular in urban centers of India like Mumbai? , sports news

Mumbai, India – In a country where cricket is paramount and football comes second, pickleball is quietly but steadily making its way – not only as a recreational activity but also as a community sport.

Over the past two years, pickleball has gained popularity in several major Indian cities, especially Mumbai and Bengaluru, with everyone from children to senior citizens.

Invented in the United States in 1965 as a backyard children’s game, pickleball is now played professionally around the world. A blend of tennis, badminton and table tennis, pickleball is easy to pick up and fun to play.

Serving as a great workout without the physical intensity of tennis, it is ideal for older adults and those seeking low-impact or socially inclined exercise.

For Parnika Waghmare, a resident of Thane city near Mumbai, pickleball has helped foster community engagement.

Waghmare, an architect, said, “I reconnected with old friends through pickleball.”

The 28-year-old loved tennis but did not get a chance to play competitively. Pickleball gave him a chance to get back on the court.

“Even though I’m not in form, I can still play easily,” she told Al Jazeera after a two-hour pickleball session. “I plan on playing every weekend to maintain my athletic talent and I hope to compete in local tournaments.”

Waghmare was one of about 15 people who had come to play pickleball on an outdoor court at TMC’s Sharadchandraji Pawar Mini Stadium in Thane on Sunday morning.

Sujay Kumar, 53, a businessman and long-time badminton player, has signed up for coaching lessons twice a week at the venue.

“Recently I had a back injury that forced me to take a break from badminton, so I took up pickleball,” Kumar said.

“I have been playing for a month and it has been great. There is a community for pickleball, which is not the case with badminton. “I met about 20 new people.”

What is pickleball?

Pickleball is played on a badminton-sized court with a low, modified tennis net, making it suitable for both indoor and outdoor play.

Players use a solid paddle, usually made of wood or composite materials, to hit a perforated plastic ball, which is about the same size as a baseball but much lighter.

The craze for the game initially started in posh areas of Mumbai – Bandra, Andheri, Goregaon and Nariman Point – and is now slowly spreading to other parts of India’s second most populous city with about 20 million residents.

“The low barrier to entry makes it very easy for anyone to fall in love with the game,” said Chirag Srivastava, co-founder of Elev8, a sports company that arranges pickleball gatherings.

In India’s urban centres, pickleball is fast becoming a favorite choice for weekend activities. Friends meet during a game, or young couples plan a “pickleball date.” Pickleball gatherings are also used as a networking tool.

“Earlier, it was tennis or squash that would connect investors or industrialists, but now they are meeting over a game of pickleball,” Srivastava said.

Mumbai may be the home of Indian pickleball, but the game has become increasingly popular in Bengaluru in southern India.

The bustling city of 14 million residents is known as the “Silicon Valley” of India for its lavish, high-tech global software companies. And pickleball resonates here.

Yashodhan Nakhare, a former national-level junior tennis player, has been playing pickleball four times a week for six months in Bengaluru’s affluent Indiranagar area and is part of a small group called “Pickle Ricklers”.

“Six of us manage ‘Pickle Ricklers’, but at least 26 to 27 people in our community play at the top level. We participate in tournaments and arrange our own friendly mini-tournaments,” said the 24-year-old, who works in a consulting firm.

Businesses are also noticing the appeal of pickleball, using it as a tool for marketing their products.

Local Ferment Company (LFC), a Bengaluru-based beverage company, arranged a pickleball party for 30 people in October, hosting them for an hour and a half in an indoor play area.

Participants selected after an application process played pickleball and enjoyed kombucha and ginger ale.

“We now have a WhatsApp community called ‘Dink and Drink’ for everyone who came to play and anyone else who is interested. It has around 70 to 80 members,” said Tarini Thakur, head of brand and culture at LFC.

“We try to arrange pickleball games from time to time. This is a great way to meet our customers and let them taste our beverages in an organic setting.

becoming professional

While many people are attracted to pickleball for its recreational appeal, others see it as a path to professional success.

Vrushali Thackeray, who hails from Jalgaon in North Maharashtra, has been playing pickleball since 2017 and represents India.

His desire to compete professionally led him to move to Mumbai permanently. This month, he won gold and silver medals at the Hong Kong leg of the World Pickleball Championship.

“I am motivated to play pickleball professionally because of the financial stability it provides,” Thackeray said. “It has become a good option for players in terms of career.”

Like Thackeray, Sonu Vishwakarma moved to Mumbai from Dhanbad, Jharkhand to focus on his professional pickleball career.

The 22-year-old said interest in pickleball skyrocketed after the 2022 Bainbridge Cup, the first international pickleball event held in India, named after the birthplace of the game.

“The prize money was $50,000, which was huge for pickleball in India,” Vishwakarma said. “Since that tournament, there has been no end to the growing popularity of pickleball, and even we players have gotten great exposure.”

Thackeray and Vishwakarma are two of the many players endorsed by the All India Pickleball Association (AIPA). Its president Arvind Prabhu says that AIPA plans to spread this sport to every corner of India.

“The long-term vision is the Olympics,” Prabhu said. “If so, pickleball can only be considered for inclusion in the 2032 or 2036 Olympics. So we have time to prepare. …All the 12-year-olds we are training now will be eligible to compete by then.’

At an elite level, pickleball is enjoying unprecedented momentum in India, and next month, Mumbai will host the country’s first global franchise-based pickleball league, the World Pickleball League.

The inaugural season will feature six teams, mixing local talent with international players and aims to attract participants from around 15 countries.

“The aim of this league is to make it commercially successful and grow the ecosystem of pickleball in India,” said Gaurav Natekar, co-founder of the league.

“We want to do what the Indian Premier League has done for hundreds of players,” he said, referring to cricket’s richest franchise tournament.

future of pickleball in india

One of the major obstacles to the continued growth of pickleball in India is the lack of adequate infrastructure.

There is a huge gap between the number of courts and the demand for play, but Natekar believes this is a “good problem” for stakeholders, who are already working on building more courts. According to Prabhu, there are around 500 courts in Mumbai, while Bengaluru is expected to have more than 200 in the next three months.

There is also a perception that some members of the elite urban class want to keep pickleball as an elite sport, a factor that fosters both its aspirational value to newcomers and the challenges of becoming more accessible.

“Partly the rich people want to keep it an elite sport and maintain the profile of the sport,” Prabhu said.

“There are clubs in Mumbai where only rich people play – no outsiders are allowed. They play as a group. …They want to keep it that way. That’s where the aspirational value comes in for someone who is not that rich and wants to make it big,” he said.

As pickleball gains momentum in India, it is becoming more than just a sport. It is a bridge connecting diverse metropolitan communities and an opportunity for aspiring athletes dreaming of global recognition.