Telangana opens South Zone Pickleball Championship with 21 medals

Telangana did more than pad a medal table at the South Zone Pickleball Championship in Hyderabad. By opening with 21 medals, including five golds, and finishing ahead of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, the hosts turned the first day into a statement about how far the state’s pickleball ladder has already spread.

That total mattered because this was not a one-bracket burst. The second South Zone championship was staged at The Hub Pickleball in Kompally and built as a full regional meet, with singles on June 13, doubles on June 14 and mixed doubles on June 15. The draw stretched across Under-12, Under-14, Under-16 and Under-19 divisions, along with Open, 35-plus, 50-plus and 60-plus categories, giving Telangana’s haul real weight across junior and adult age groups.

Among the names driving the opening-day surge was Gia Gandhi, who added multiple medals to Telangana’s count. She won the under-19 girls’ singles title, the under-16 girls’ singles title and bronze in open women’s singles, a three-medal return that showed how one player can influence several sections of a championship when the event is structured across age and open divisions. Malishka Kuramu and Devika S also figured in Telangana’s singles success, adding to the breadth of the host state’s early run.

The championship was organized by the Amateur Telangana Pickleball Association, and the opening ceremony reflected the sport’s growing administrative backbone in the state. Dr Dasaradha Reddy Tetali, senior vice president of the association, presided over the ceremony, while Sonibala Devi, vice chairperson and managing director of the Sports Authority of Telangana, attended and later delivered on court as well. She won the 50-plus women’s singles gold medal, a notable detail in a championship where an official was also part of the competitive field.

The scale of Telangana’s start suggests more than a home-court bounce. With a multi-day format, a spread of age groups and a medal count that already put the hosts in front of neighboring powerhouses, the championship looked less like a brief surge and more like evidence of a deeper player pipeline. For a state whose governing structure is anchored by the Telangana Pickleball Association and its affiliation with the Indian Pickleball Association, the opening day in Kompally pointed to a program building competitive strength from the bottom up.