India clinch four golds at WPC Series in Penang, Malaysia

Four golds, three silvers and two bronzes in Penang gave India a nine-medal haul and a sharper message than any scoreboard number alone: AIPA is no longer just showing up in Asia’s pickleball circuit, it is collecting results across formats. The split across men’s, women’s and mixed events showed a squad with genuine range, not a one-off spike from a single star.

The strongest push came from familiar names. Mayur Patil and Vanshik Kapadia won gold in Men’s Doubles 19+ Open, while Kuldip Mahajan and Nicholas Maleganeas took bronze. Kapadia then added another gold in Men’s Singles 19+ Open, with Mahajan again on the podium in bronze. In Mixed Doubles 19+ Open, Vrushali Thakare and Kapadia struck gold, while Aalyka Ebrahim and Willy Chung earned silver after another deep run through the draw.

Ebrahim also delivered one of the most complete individual performances of the week. She paired with Ariana Muralidharan for silver in Women’s Doubles 19+ Advanced Plus, then went one step further to win gold in Women’s Singles 19+ Advanced Plus. That kind of repeat success matters in a packed series like this: it suggests India’s top players can hold form across multiple brackets in the same event, which is exactly the kind of depth needed to stay relevant as the level rises.

The Penang leg was part of the WPC Malaysia Series 2025/26, which began in October 2025 and runs into 2026. WPC Malaysia says the wider WPC Series has been active across more than 15 countries and four continents since 2019, and Malaysia’s staging has become a key piece of that expansion. The series’ growth follows the first-ever WPC Grand Slam in Asia in July 2025, when Malaysia drew more than 1,500 players from over 20 countries, backed by a RM120,000 prize pool and more than 3,000 spectators.

For India, the result also fits a longer build. AIPA says pickleball arrived in the country in 2008, it was formally affiliated with the International Pickleball Federation in 2015, and it is a founding member of the Asia Federation of Pickleball. With more than 10,000 active players nationwide and a growing tournament calendar, the federation has clearly moved beyond the startup phase. Arvind Prabhoo said the Penang results reflected the rapid growth of pickleball in India and AIPA’s commitment to developing talent.

That momentum was not isolated either. AIPA had already taken two golds and one silver at the WPC Asia Pickleball Open in Bangkok in March, and Penang now reinforces the trend. India is starting to look like a regional contender with staying power, not just a team capable of occasional breakthroughs.