Narang and Gupta win 30+ men’s doubles at Madhya Pradesh Open

Mayank Narang and Mahendra Kumar Gupta did more than claim a title in Indore. Their 15-11 win over Rahul Belwal and Nilesh Desai in the 30+ men’s doubles final showed how quickly India’s age-group brackets are becoming a serious competitive lane, with pressure, ranking value and real separation on the scoreboard.

The final at the Madhya Pradesh Open was tight enough to demand nerve, but Narang and Gupta were the pair that found answers in the key rallies. A four-point margin may not look dramatic at first glance, yet in doubles it usually reflects who handled the last stretch better, protected serve runs and avoided the kind of late drift that turns a final into a coin flip. Here, Narang and Gupta did not just survive the closing points. They created enough separation to finish cleanly.

That mattered because the Madhya Pradesh Open sat inside the Indian Pickleball Association’s PWR 400 structure, giving the result far more weight than a routine local bracket. The IPA lists the event as sanctioned, with Soft Serve Courts in Indore as the venue and a prize purse of 5,00,000. The association also says it is recognized by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports as the national sports federation for pickleball in India, which means results like this feed into a formal national points ecosystem rather than existing only as one-off regional wins.

Indore has become one of the clearest signs of that growth. The city had already hosted three pickleball events in 2026, including the Surya Pickleball PWR 200 and Surya Pickleball Academy PWR 100 in March. Madhya Pradesh Pickleball Association president Kulbhushan Singh Kukki has said plans were underway for an international-standard stadium in the city, while Indore Municipal Corporation official Rajesh Udawat publicly pledged a new court in Ward No. 49 after seeing the sport’s rise firsthand.

The broader national picture explains why a 30-plus doubles title now carries real significance. The IPA says its 2026 calendar includes nearly 45 events across India, with more than 500 professional players, more than 100 ranking tournaments and coverage across 27 states. It also says state-level tournaments are part of a pathway toward junior and senior nationals. That makes Narang and Gupta’s win part of something larger: a system that is building not only stars at the top, but depth, continuity and competitive purpose for experienced players who want to stay in the game.