In a pickle? Play ball

Pick up a paddle and head to a nearby court... to play pickleball. Combining the elements of three racquet sports, this game new sport is finding many takers in the city

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 recently-held South India Pickleball Premier League at Hotfut SPR Sports in Perambur, Mohit answers questions from curious onlookers. He was introduced to the sport in 2019 through a family friend visiting from the US, where it's a fast-growing 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 within a matter of hours and is an effective workout. Though it is a relatively-new sport in India, it has gained a lot of traction recently, especially in India’s post-lockdown phase: in 2020 the number of players in Tamil Nadu quadrupled in less than a year.

“It is also ideal for networking especially if you’re new to a city. We have a community that always opens its doors to new players,” says 36-year-old Mohit, general secretary of the Tamil Nadu Pickleball Association, which organised the League drawing more than 70 players, 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 ago. Since then, she has been at it — practising daily with peers at DAV Gopalapuram and training over the weekends.