Gaming
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Pickleball has gone from recreation to competition
The Indian Open Pickleball Championship will be the first international tournament of the sport in the country. While still in its early stages, pickleball but has already amassed a large following.
Pickleball may have only arrived in India 10 years ago, but it already has its first major international championship in the country.
The All India Pickleball Association (AIPA) and Sports Wizards will be organising the first-ever Indian Open Pickleball Championship on 28th and 29th October in Mumbai with 48 teams set to take part in Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles categories.
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Indian Open Pickleball Championship 2017
While many in the country are still learning about the young sport, pickleball already has a decent fan following and a group of competitors from different states. There are about 2,000 pickleball players in India and multiple state associations around the country.
In fact, before the Indian Open was organized, four senior national championships, a junior national championship, and a confederation cup have been held in the country. The first senior national championship was held at Andheri Sports Complex in Mumbai in 2014 after which it was shifted to Sawai Mansingh Indoor Stadium in Jaipur — the same stadium which is considered the home of the Jaipur Pink Panthers kabaddi team. The junior nationals and confederation cup were hosted in Dehradun for the first time earlier this year.
Much like the diversity in the location of the championships, the sport has found following around the country. Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand lead the way in terms of players partaking in competitions. Besides these, there are also state associations in Haryana, Pondicherry, Sikkim and Kerala, among others.
Courts are similar to those used in badminton
© AIPA
The game and the tricks
Pickleball is a game that combines the rules and playing style of three racquet sports — badminton, lawn tennis, and table tennis.
The game is played with paddles slightly larger than those used in table tennis to hit around a perforated ball. The paddles used for recreational play are commonly wooden while those used by professional players tend to be made of carbon fibre. The ball resembles a wiffle ball which is hollow and has holes on the surface. The balls are usually made of plastic although other materials are used as long as they are sanctioned by the USA Pickleball Association which governs the rules of the game.
The court is similar to that used in badminton; it is 22 feet in width and 44 feet in length. The net is three feet tall from the ground and splits the court in two, one side of the court for each team like other racquet sports. One big difference in the court, when compared with other similar sports, is that pickleball courts have a ‘no-volley zone’ exactly seven feet on either side of the net. The no-volley zone cannot be entered until the ball bounces inside it. The zone is also called the kitchen derived from the North American euphemism to “stay out of the kitchen”.
The game starts by a player serving with an underhanded action into the diagonally opposite side of the court, much like badminton. The receiver can only strike the ball after it bounces. Herein lies the second major difference in the game, the second return after the serve must also be taken after a bounce — the double-bounce rule. Once two bounced returns after the serve are played, the ball may be struck on the volley. These rules are in place to encourage longer rallies, something fairly common in pickleball.
The scoring system is similar to what existed in badminton a few years ago. Games are played in best-of-three sets. Each set is played to 11 points — a difference of two points is needed to decide the set winner if both players reach 10 points each.
While the no-volley zone can pose a restrictive part of the play, it usually makes for a large part of the tricks and strategy of the game. Much of the game is played at the border of the no-volley zone and a strategy called dinking arose from this style of play. Dinking involves lightly striking the ball so it falls within the opponents no-volley zone, as close to the net as possible. Dinking also brings out several techniques with timing when striking the ball and angles of the paddle becoming important.
An international championship within 10 years
Pickleball came to India after Sunil Valavalkar from Maharashtra brought paddles and balls back from USA in 2007. A year later, he founded the AIPA, and continues to be the founding director of the association to this day.
Valavalkar had become fascinated with the game after playing it several times on his visits to North America. He was particularly impressed with the fact that anyone could play the game, regardless of age or athletic ability. In fact, the game was invented as a recreational activity in the US in the 1960s and is still most popular in the age group of 60-plus retirees in the US because players can get a decent workout without risk of injury.
Pickleball played by seniors
© AIPA
Since taking on the avatar of an organised sport, the game has also become very popular in Spain where a professional league is conducted, and in Thailand where several Indians have competed at the Bangkok Open. Apart from Thailand, there are many international pickleball tournaments around the world, including the US Open, Spanish Open, Holland Open, Finnish Open, and now, the Indian Open.
Many international players are expected to partake in the Indian Open which will be played in a league-cum-knockout format. The first edition of the Indian Open will be played by doubles teams only. There will be 16 teams in each of the Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles categories respectively. Groups of four teams each will be made and the top two of each group will progress to the knockout stages, starting with the quarterfinals.
With this being the first time an international pickleball competition is taking place in India, the organisers have said the priority is to conduct a successful tournament without glitches. As for the next edition, a more diverse field of players is the hope, including tapping into the fairly accomplished European contingent.
