India’s IPA Nationals Shine as Karnataka, West Bengal, Telangana Rise
What's the Score?
The 5th IPA Nationals 2025, India’s largest pickleball event, concluded with high drama and showcased the nation’s rapidly maturing talent pool. Hosted at The Sports School, Kanakapura, Bengaluru, the tournament saw over 1,500 players from 20 states compete in 43 categories ranging from Under-12 to Over-70. The event marked a major milestone as the first National Championship held since the Indian Pickleball Association (IPA) received official National Sports Federation (NSF) recognition. On the court, titles were distributed across multiple states, with Karnataka dominating the masters, West Bengal clinching the Men’s Open, Telangana securing their first title, and Gujarat winning the U-16 Boys crown. Off the court, the young host, Karnataka Pickleball Association (KPA), earned widespread praise for executing a complex logistical operation "effortlessly and without a single complaint".
Hit it deeper!
The competitive action at the IPA Nationals, a PWR2000 World Ranking Event, was fierce across all age groups, yielding several spectacular, tight finishes.
In the Men’s Open Team Final, West Bengal edged out Rajasthan 2-1 in a dramatic tie. The decisive moment came in the reverse singles when Tejas Gulati displayed "remarkable composure" to secure a razor-thin 21-20 victory against Rajasthan’s Aditya Ruhela. Earlier, West Bengal's Arunavo Majumdar had narrowly won his singles match 21-20 after battling Shivraj Singh Bhati's impressive comeback.
The host state, Karnataka, showcased its depth in the master divisions, achieving a "double delight" by winning both the 30+ Men’s and 30+ Women’s Team titles. The Men’s 30+ team defeated Delhi 2-0, highlighted by Sujith’s 21–16 singles win and the dominant 21–17 doubles performance from Rashein Samuel and Avilay Jha. The 30+ Women's Team secured their gold by defeating Maharashtra 21–15, 21–17.
Meanwhile, Telangana announced its growing prominence by clinching its first title at the IPA Nationals. The 40+ Men’s Team swept the final against Karnataka 2-0, dominating the singles 21-8 and the doubles 21-7. Telangana’s top seed, Sameer Verma, a former tennis player, led his team to the semifinals with consistency and composure, aiming to give his "best in the semis".
Junior competition was equally compelling. Gujarat secured the U-16 Boys crown 2-0, driven by Yuvraj Singh's unforgettable comeback in the singles, where he saved five game points to win 21-20. In the U16 Girls’ Team Final, Maharashtra prevailed 2-0 against Assam, with Sehher Mankani winning the singles 21-18 and the pair of Evana Mankani and Sasha Salvi wrapping up the doubles 21-14. Maharashtra's contingent also featured the returning father-daughter duo, Vijay and Anushka Chhabria, who had recently secured India's first-ever gold (Vijay in Men's 35+ Singles 3.5) and five total medals (Anushka) at the Pickleball World Cup in Florida.
The organisational success was crucial. Despite being less than a year old, the KPA managed the immense logistical challenge of converting seven tennis courts into 17 pickleball courts. Operations Lead Naren Shetty detailed the necessary "shuttle symphony," which coordinated transport every few hours from the airport, railway station, and nearest metro for the hundreds of daily travellers, alongside providing complimentary accommodation. IPA President Suryaveer Singh Bhullar lauded the KPA for making the event a historic success for the IPA and India. The championships were sponsored by Sabala Millets, an emerging brand promoting healthy living. Furthermore, the tournament saw strong representation from the North East states—Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, and Tripura—highlighting the sport's burgeoning national reach.
The World Pickleball Verdict
The 5th IPA Nationals serves as a powerful validation of Indian pickleball's full-scale transition into a structured, professional sport. The distribution of major titles across diverse states (Karnataka, West Bengal, Telangana, Gujarat) demonstrates that competitive excellence is widely decentralised, promising a rich and varied talent pool for future international representation. More significantly, the meticulous organisational success achieved by the youthful KPA, including the establishment of complex shuttle services and infrastructure conversion, proves that Indian sports governance is rapidly meeting world-class operational standards. The high-stakes, 21-20 finishes in the Open and Junior categories underscore the soaring level of mental toughness and technical parity among India's elite players, confirming that the future of Indian pickleball is intensely competitive and robustly managed from the grassroots upward.