All India Pickleball Association (AIPA) approached the sports ministry for recognition as a National Sports Federation (NSF), reported PTI.
The popularity of pickleball – a paddle sport that combines elements of tennis, badminton, and ping-pong – has shot up recently in India.
The AIPA submitted the requisite documents to the ministry to be recognized as an NSF. The AIPA recently hosted the inaugural World Championship in Mumbai.
The World Pickleball Championship, held on November 12-17, saw 650 players from Australia, Vietnam, Taiwan, Poland, and Singapore competing.
Arvind Prabhoo, the head of the AIPA, said, “AIPA submitted the paperwork for recognition to the ministry two months back. One of the hurdles we were facing was that because it was not an Olympic sport, there were challenges.”
“We are now pushing for Olympic status for pickleball, and, hopefully, in the coming years, it will become an Olympic sport, and we are all geared up for that. We are awaiting their (ministry’s) response to recognise us as a (national) federation,” he added.
The AIPA is also hopeful the sport will be included in the Olympics.
“AIPA has already started preparing youngsters for the Olympics. We feel that if not in 2028 (Los Angeles), definitely in 2032 Olympics, pickleball will be incorporated, which gives us eight years,” said Prabhoo.
“We have started working on the under-14 kids. We’ve sent them to events in Vietnam, where they played very well. We have started putting our youth into training programmes to ensure that whenever the sport becomes a part of the Olympics, an Indian will win a medal,” he said.
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