Pioneer of Introducing Pickleball in India
Father of Pickleball of India
Pickleball is a racket or paddle sport in which two or four players use a smooth-faced paddle to hit a perforated, hollow plastic ball over a 34-inch-high (0.86 m) net until one side is unable to return the ball or commits a rule infraction. Pickleball is played indoors and outdoors. It was invented in 1965 as a children’s backyard game in the United States, on Bainbridge Island in Washington state. In 2021, pickleball was named the official state sport of Washington.
Pickleball is quickly becoming one of the most popular racket sports in the world, combining elements of tennis, badminton & table tennis into one game suitable for all abilities!
Mr. Sunil Valavalkar is the pioneer of Pickleball in India and was the first person to add this word in India’s dictionary of sports. As a professional pickleball coach , ever since has been training people non-stop for this amazing sport. During his tenure, he has trained more than 5000 sportsmen so far and continues to do so with his unwavering efforts. He has made this less known sport to famous sport in India & earned the total as Father of Pickleball.
Since pickleball is not an Indian sport, its equipment which is a racket and a ball made of a special kind of plastic, is not available in India. Mr. Sunil initially flew all the way to Vancouver to first carry along the sports equipment with him. He now made several imports from Canada and offered to the players free of cost. Courtsey, Douglas Smith and Barry Mainsfield .
In all the tournaments he arranged, he was the only one who supplied all the equipment himself. Not only this but the catch here is that all the funds were invested by our pickleball superhero himself. He did not seek any external funding and provided all the funds personally. Since the beginning, he has invested lakhs of rupees solely for this purpose.
ESTABLISHING CORPORATE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR PICKLEBALL
Mr. Sunil Valavalkar has paved the way for 2 well-known associations for pickleball. The first one is named ‘All India Pickleball Association’ which is registered as a Section-8 company under The Companies Act, 2013. This is formed as a charitable trust which reinvests its profit for its purpose. He recognized that sports are prone to fraud which is often committed under the corporate veil of associations. To ensure transparency, he chooses to always have the accounts properly audited and placed into the official government databases. Mr. Sunil acts as the founder cum director of this association and started working for the promotion of pickleball.
Fortunately, after years of nerve-racking training and working non-stop for the betterment of people’s health, he was able to embed the love for pickleball in India’s heart. Then, marked an amazing change of fate as Mr. Sunil was now an international pickleball sensation. He then established the ‘International Federation of Pickleball’ and embarked on a journey to gain recognition for pickleball worldwide. No dream is too big and Mr. Sunil is an exceptional example of this.
Arrangement of High-Level Tournaments
Mr. Sunil paved the way for the first-ever national tournament of pickleball in India in 2013 in the bustling city of Mumbai. 120 players participated in this tournament, from 10 different states. This was a huge success as thousands of people witnessed this game religiously. In 2022, he became the President of the International Federation of Pickleball. He arranged an international pickleball tournament with 6 countries participating. This was a huge milestone achievement as the number of foreign players was a whopping 250 and 300 Indian players participated as well. Until now, 7 tournaments have been carried out with 5 national level games and 2 international level games held in Bangkok once as well.
IMPACT OF HIS WORK ON SOCIETY
– Introduction of Pickleball In India
Mr. Sunil Valavalkar was the one who introduced pickleball in India. Before him, there was no trace of this new-age sport in our country. He has trained countless people since and has professionally coached 1500 players so far in his 15-year tenure.
He along with his team has arranged 7 tournaments all on his own in India as well as in Bangkok, Thailand. This was the biggest milestone in the history of Pickleball in India and the games were also covered by the biggest news channels like ABP News ZEE News and DD Sports.
All this has paved the way for Pickleball which is an American sport in India and has added another shining star to the list of Indian sports. Mr. Sunil Valavalkar is often referred to as the ‘Father of Pickleball’ who has entirely dedicated his life to the promotion of this sport.
– Improved The Health of People Manifolds
When it comes to maintaining a healthy life, playing sports can be a blessing in disguise. It is fun, pushes a person to be physically fitter, and improves the qualities of sportsmanship, perseverance, and discipline as well. The number of people who regularly play sports in India is quite low and it was only the efforts of Mr. Sunil who introduced ‘Right To Sports’ in people’s minds.
Pickleball is an easy sport that does not require complicated professional equipment and can be played with minimal resources. All it requires is a racket ( Paddle), plastic ball, and a Net. This makes the sport highly affordable so it can be played by any person in the form of a hobby.
Mr. Sunil has completely transformed the perspective of people when it comes to sports and people usually consider it an expensive affair. This has in turn helped change hundreds, if not thousands of people from couch potatoes to physically fit.
– Improving India’s Position In International Sports
Lately, India’s sporty spirit has been shining the brightest in the realm of international sports. With so many gold medals flowing in from our star athletes, India is claiming its position as a worldwide topper in sports. With the addition of pickleball as a new sport as well as by training more than 1500 players, Mr. Sunil Valavalkar has done a magnificent job in organizing pickleball tournaments on the global level in which 250 players from 6 countries have participated.
This has established India as a leading global sports participant and has increased our pride across the globe. As India rises to its glory, a major stake in this progress goes to Mr. Sunil Valvalkar.
