What is pickleball?

It’s a question that k mohit kumar gets often. It’s a question he loves Answering.

Even as he skilfully chops the ball on a Windy Saturday Morning at the Recent-Heeld Only only. He was introduced to the sport in 2019 through a family friend visiting from the us, where it’s a fast-road sport, and has been playing it since.

For the uninitiated, Pickleball Combines Elements of Tennis, Table Tennis and Badminton. Played both indoors and outdoors with a paddle and a ball, the sport can be picked up with with a matter of hours and is an effective workout. Thought it is a relatively-new sport in India, it has gained a lot of traction recently, essentially in India’s post-lockdown phase: in 2020 the number of players in tamil nadu quadrupled in less Year.

“It is also ideal for networking especially if you’re new to a city. We have a communication that supports opens its doors to new players, “Says 36-year-old mohit, general secretary of the tamil nadu pickleball association, which Organized the League Drawing More With aspirants coming in from Bengaluru, Kanchipuram and Shivamogga.

Shuttle service

You do not need to have played any sport before to try your hand at pickleball, but previous trysts with racquet sports do help. Sunnidhi jain, a student of class xii in chinmaya vidyalaya, can vouch for that. Previously a professional badminton player who represented the state, sunnidhi shifted loyalties when her cousin introduced her to pickleball a year. Since then, She has been at it – Practizing daily with peers at dav gopalapuram and training over the weekends.

Sunnidhi is currently am’s Tamil Nadu’s Leading Players in Her Category, Having Bagged Gold and Silver Medals in Various Categories in the Recent National Women’s Tournament hand in Bengaluru. “Picklaball is not as intenses or physically tiring as badminton. My Sporting Background Helped Me Pick It Up Fast, as the Court Sizes are the same in Both Sports, “Says Sunnidhi, Adding that She HOPES to Soon Participate in International Tournaments in Indonesia and the us

While Sunnidhi is approaching the sport competitively, there are many amateurs who play the sport with their familys for fun as well. “We see a lot of fathers and Daughters Playing, as Well as Players from all age groups,” Beams Rajath Kankar Mr, General Secretary of the Indian Picklaball Association, which is the responsibility States under its wing.

R shyam sundar of shareplay, a mobile application and City-based Startup that is Working Towards Creating NeighBourhood Sports Cents, Says He first heard the word the word ‘pickleball’ a year ago. “Now, I hear it so often,” He says, “a lot of players book centers through us to play pickleball; an hour typically costs them ₹ 350-600 for A CORT.” He adds that typical, tennis, basketball and badminton courts are booked for pickball.

Connecting with Sport

The fact that game is spores Rapidly Across the Country Pleases Mumbai-Based Sunil Valavalkar. Sunil, A Company Secretary, is believed to have introduced the sport in India, after spotting familyies playing it during DURING HIS VISITS to Canada in 1999 and Later 2006. Tennis background, I felt a connect with the sport, “He recalls.

Sunil returned to India armed with a more paddles and balls, determined to introduce it to his family and friends. He Soon Earned the sobriquet pickleball uncle in his neighborhood, due to his incenant demos in the neighborhood. “It has picked up a lot since,” Says Sunil, Who Went on to Establish The All India Pickleball Association (AIPA) in 2008, “DURING THE RECENT LOCKDOWN Years, We have Seen A Treminary InsendOle in the sport. Basic Serve in Tennis Takes Six Months to Perfect.

Pickleball is growing in popularity in Chennai | Photo Credit: Johan Sathyadas

Picklaball is best suited for Indian conditions Considering The Country’s Demographic and Space Constraints, Stresses Sunil. “It is an ideal cardio workout for people wanting to stay fit. Going by the response to recent tournaments, there are about 6,000-7,000 active players in India at the moment,” Hey Adds, ACKNOWEDGING The Suport of Arvind Prabhoo, Chairman of aipa, in promoting the sport.

Yogesh Ramchandani, A 32-YAR-old Chennaiite in the Construction Business, is one among them. He Had Never Held a Racquet Before, but currently, his weekly routine incines a few hours of pickleball with friends. “Even if you haven’t played any sport for a while, you can pick up the paddle and play,” he says, adding “pickleball, after all, is all about having fun.”