Noida: Noida witnessed the first time UP State Pickleball Tournament on the lawns of Raghav Global School on November 5th 2023, which was organized by Uttar Pradesh Pickleball Association (UPA)
With the motto of Fitness First, Team Uttar Pradesh PickleBall Association (UPA) aims to build an army of players in the age group of 10 to 80 years and look forward to other championships. For this, they keep organising the workshops, boot camps and the championships where the leaders of today and tomorrow plays pickleball with equal sportsmanship and keeps illness at bay.
The 1st Uttar Pradesh Pickleball Championship, held at Raghav Global School, concluded on 5th November with lots of enthusiasm and dedication that saw the state’s top 90+ players competing across 10 different categories and a total number of matches played 120+, in which players of 13+ age and 70+ age category showed the same level of zeal. The tournament, hosted by Uttar Pradesh Pickleball Association (UPA), was conducted with the support of 30+ key sponsors.
The tournament, was played across all categories Singles, Doubles and Mixed Doubles, Open categories in which players participated from Shikohabad, Mathura, Bulandshahar, Kanpur, Meerut, Lucknow and Gautam Buddha Nagar. 25+ women players participated in the tournament, which was a kind of success for us.
Results –
Open Mens Singles
Winner – Prabhat Mani Vats
Runners up – Amritanjay
35+ Mens Singles
Winner – Kapil Verma
Runers up – Somil
Open Mens Doubles
Winners – Prabhat and Kalpit
Runners-up Amritanjay and Shailendra
35+ Mens Doubles
Winners – Sandeep and Mohit
Runners up – Tarun and Sukendra
Open Mixed Doubles
Winners – Aarna and Ayush
Runner up – Sukendra and Sonia
Open Womens Singles
Winner – Parul
Runners up – Aditi
Open Womens Doubles
Winners- Priyanka and Sonia
Runner up – Aarna and Toshika
50+ Mens Singles
Winner – Hemant
Runner up -Sudesh
50+ Mens Doubles
Winner – Uday Jain and Hemant Ratan
Runners up – Kumar and Rakesh Khaitan
50+ Mixed Doubles
Winners – Abha Jain and Anoop
Runner up – Usha Jain and PS Bisht
Distinguished figures who graced the tournament with their presence include:
Mr. Ayush Chauhan , MD, Prakash Hospital
Mr. Rajiva Singh, NOFAA President
The Referees showed their faithfulness and devotion and conducted a smooth and fair play. The level of talent and passion displayed by our pickleball family was truly amazing. The zeal to deliver outstanding performances was really unbelievable we have seen participants competing from 13 years to 60+ age. Kudos for the dedication and explicit performances they showed in the court. It was a pleasure to witness the dedication, skills and sportsmanship on the court of every player.
Prabhat Mani Vats, General Secretary says, ” We take pride in announcing that all our Gold and Silver Medalists will automatically qualify for the Nationals Pickleball Championship to be held in Ahmedabad between 1st-3rd December. Our Association has proudly decided to sponsor the participation fees for all the participants willing to participate in the Nationals event. Entries will be submitted by November 8th.
K. Kumar, President of the UPA Pickleball Association says, “This tournament could not have been successful without the support from our Sponsors. A Big Thank You to our Sponsors for their unwavering support.”
This is to be noted that the Pickleball game was first introduced in Noida by the residents of Prateek Laurel, Sector 120 some time back and its craze has been sweeping through Prateek Laurel for the past 1.5 years, uniting sports enthusiasts in a passion for this energetic and addictive game. PickleBall Journey in Uttar Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh PickleBall Association (UPA) efforts are commendable so far to uplift the game in the State.