Quang Duong and Harsh Mehta win men’s doubles title in Ho Chi Minh City
Duong and Mehta outlasted Ly and Khamphi in a three-game final, a title that underlined Ho Chi Minh City's rise as a real Asian pickleball proving ground.
Quang Duong and Harsh Mehta turned a tense three-game final into a statement about where Asian pickleball is headed. Their 21-16, 17-21, 21-17 win over Hoang Nam Ly and Nick Khamphi in Ho Chi Minh City showed that the region’s best pairings now have to survive cross-border combinations and a deeper competitive field.
The men’s doubles title came at the 2026 Michelob Ultra Asia Pickleball Tournament, which ran June 4 to June 7 in Ho Chi Minh City with about 600 players from across the Asia-Pacific region. The event carried a total prize pool of VNĐ3 billion, about US$115,000, and featured five categories, men’s and women’s singles and doubles, plus mixed doubles, all played under rally scoring. AAC and FPT Play co-organized the tournament, with Michelob Ultra and AB InBev Southeast Asia tied to its commercial presentation.
Duong and Mehta did not cruise through the final. They started fast, dropped the second game and had to reset again in the decider before closing out Ly and Khamphi. The scoreline captured the shape of the match: Duong and Mehta were sharp enough to take control early, but Ly and Khamphi stayed close enough to force the kind of pressure that separates a promising pairing from a title-winning one.
The pairing itself mattered as much as the result. Duong, one of the most recognizable Vietnamese-born names in regional pickleball, teamed with India’s Harsh Mehta in a final that reflected how quickly top events in Asia are becoming international tests rather than local showcases. Both men also arrived at the title match with something to prove after earlier disappointments in the tournament, which made the rebound even more meaningful.
That context is why Ho Chi Minh City felt bigger than a stop on the calendar. The same tournament ended with Phuc Huynh winning the men’s singles crown on June 7 after beating Quang Duong in the semifinal and Ly Hoang Nam in the final, reinforcing the strength of the Vietnamese field even as mixed-nationality pairings like Duong and Mehta’s pushed the level higher. In a tournament built around regional reach, commercial backing and a sizable prize pool, the men’s doubles final offered a clear sign that Vietnam is becoming a serious proving ground for elite Asian pickleball.
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