India shines at BIDV Cup with doubles gold, Yadav bronze

India did more than nibble at the podium at the BIDV Cup 2026. At D-Joy Pickleball South Saigon in Ho Chi Minh City, Harsh Mehta and Quang Duong took the Pro Men’s Doubles title, and Mihika Yadav added Pro Women’s Singles bronze against a field of more than 800 athletes from more than 20 nations.

That matters because this was not a soft draw or a domestic showcase. Yadav’s bronze came after a three-game battle with Aaliya Ebrahim, and she had to reset after dropping the second game 2-11 before closing out the decider 11-6. Mehta and Duong were even more clinical in the final, winning 11-7, 11-2 to put the match away with a commanding finish. In a region where margins are getting thinner by the month, that kind of conversion rate is what separates emerging depth from real international weight.

India’s footprint in Ho Chi Minh City did not stop there. Arjun Singh and Naomi Amalsadiwala also reached the Pro Mixed Doubles final after beating Quang Duong and Shelby Bates 11-6, 11-2, another result that says Indian pairs are no longer showing up just to collect experience. They are beating recognizable opponents, reaching finals and forcing the conversation beyond one-off results. With DUPR’s May 11 Asia rankings listing Armaan Bhatia at No. 3, Harsh Mehta at No. 9, Sanil Jagtiani at No. 10 and Arjun Singh at No. 34, India now has multiple men sitting inside the continent’s higher-rated tier.

The Vietnam backdrop is part of the story too. DUPR opened its first Asia headquarters in Ho Chi Minh City on April 29, said Vietnam ranked among the top five countries globally by DUPR users, and described the country as its fastest month-over-month growth market. DUPR also said it would become the exclusive rating system across all D-JOY events worldwide, including Legs 1, 2, 3 and Masters. That makes Vietnam more than a stop on the calendar. It is becoming a sorting ground for the regional hierarchy, where results carry ranking consequences and the strongest national programs start to separate themselves.

The scale of the country’s rise was already visible in Da Nang last October, when organizers said 7,906 fans packed Championship Saturday at the MB Vietnam Cup and PPA Tour Asia called it the largest pickleball tournament in Asia to date, with nearly 600 players. Against that backdrop, India’s gold and bronze in Ho Chi Minh City look less like a hot week and more like a warning shot. Indian pickleball is not just growing at home anymore. It is starting to travel, win and measure itself against Asia’s best.