India’s pickleball stars sweep Penang, Kapadia wins three golds

Vanshik Kapadia did what few pickleball players ever manage: he left Penang with three gold medals from three different draws, turning one tournament into a clear signal that India is no longer relying on isolated standouts. Kapadia won men’s singles 19+ Open, men’s doubles 19+ Open with Mayur Patil, and mixed doubles 19+ Open with Vrushali Thakare, completing a true triple crown at the WPC Series stop in Malaysia.

That haul mattered beyond the medal count. The Penang leg ran from April 16-19 at Pickle By The Sea in Penang Island, George Town, and it sat inside a Malaysia series that began in October 2025 and feeds into global rankings and international selection pathways. WPC Malaysia says its wider network has staged more than 80 events across 15 countries since 2019, with more than 60,000 registered players, a scale that helps explain why results in Penang carry weight well beyond one national contingent.

India’s breakout was not limited to Kapadia. Aalyka Ebrahim matched the weekend’s breadth with a medal in each color, winning women’s singles 19+ Advanced Plus gold, taking women’s doubles 19+ Advanced Plus silver with Ariana Muralidharan, and adding mixed doubles 19+ Open silver with Willy Chung. Her run underscored the same theme as Kapadia’s sweep: India is starting to place players across formats, not just in one specialist lane.

The All India Pickleball Association contingent finished Penang with 4 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze medals overall, a result that pushed this from a strong outing into a broader regional statement. AIPA president Arvind Prabhoo said the performance reflected the players’ dedication, resilience and world-class ability, and pointed to India’s rapid growth in the sport. In practice, that growth showed up in multiple finals and podiums, not just one headline result.

Penang also extended Kapadia’s pattern of success in Malaysia. At the 2025 PPA Tour Asia Panas Malaysia Open in Selangor, he had already won two gold medals and one silver, so the latest sweep looks less like a surprise and more like evidence of a player who travels well and keeps rising. For the rest of Asia, that is the more important takeaway: India is building depth fast, and the teams chasing regional supremacy now have a new benchmark to beat.