India begins junior pickleball World Cup trials in Ahmedabad

More than 100 junior pickleball players will gather in Ahmedabad from June 12 to 14 for India’s latest step toward building a World Cup-ready pipeline, with U14 and U18 places on the line for the Pickleball World Cup 2026 in Da Nang, Vietnam, from August 30 to September 9.

The selection pool stretches across Delhi, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Assam, Rajasthan, Odisha, Haryana and Gujarat, a spread that shows how quickly the sport has moved beyond a handful of metro pockets. Among the contenders already identified are Arjun Singh, fresh from winning three medals at the US Open, along with Naomi Amalsadiwala, Panth Thakkar, Purvansh Patel, Anoushka Chhabria, Veer Shah and Dev Shah.

That mix is what makes the Ahmedabad trials more than a routine junior event. India is not simply filling a team for a single tournament. The Indian Pickleball Association is trying to turn domestic participation into repeat international depth, and the junior program is the clearest test of whether that can happen by 2026 and beyond. Suryaveer Singh Bhullar has made the point that the junior squad will shape India’s presence at major international events for years, and that the World Cup gives young players a direct measure against the best in the world.

The stakes rise further because the World Cup is heading to Vietnam, where pickleball’s Asian footprint is expanding fast. The third edition of the event arrives after a 2024 tournament in Peru that drew 43 nations and more than 500 athletes, while the official World Cup channel said more than 48 countries were involved around the 2025 event. Da Nang, described by the tournament as a growing pickleball hub, now becomes the next proving ground for Asia’s rising power balance.

India’s challenge is whether its internal structure can keep pace. The Indian Pickleball Association is recognized by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports as the national federation, and its own figures point to a base that is already substantial: more than 500 professional players, 100-plus ranking tournaments, more than 50,000 players and coverage in 27 states. Yet the junior trials also expose the next gap. India has participation, ranking events and state spread, but it still has to prove that those pieces can be converted into a steady international conveyor belt.

Ahmedabad will provide the first answer. If the process works, India will not just send a team to Vietnam. It will send a deeper model for how the country intends to compete in Asia’s next pickleball hierarchy.