Pickleball Will Be an Olympic Sport: Pranav Kohli, CEO and co-founder of Pickleball World Rankings (PWR), and Aditya Khanna, co-founder of PWR, have expressed confidence that pickleball will be included in the 2036 Olympics. Speaking at the ET Now Global Business Summit 2025, they emphasized India’s growing role in the sport and the steps being taken to achieve Olympic recognition.
India’s Growing Role in Pickleball
Pickleball has seen rapid expansion in India, making the country a major force in the sport. Following the success of the PWR DUPR India Masters in New Delhi and the 4th Indian Pickleball Association (IPA) Nations at Bennett University, Khanna highlighted the upcoming PWR DUPR India League in Mumbai as a key step in grassroots development. He compared the initiative to the Indian Premier League (IPL) in cricket, stating,
“What IPL did for Indian cricket is truly wonderful. That is what this league is set to do for Pickleball. Indian players will play in the league and the grassroots league will start. As leagues like this come, prize money and sponsorship opportunities will increase. These Indian players become heroes for junior kids and that’s where the junior grassroots development starts.”(Aditya Khanna)
Khanna also stressed the importance of governance for achieving international recognition.
“Governance structure is very important for leagues like this. The Indian Pickleball Association (IPA) is working strongly with the Global Pickleball Federation (GPF). GPF is aligned with the US Pickleball Association (USPA), which is the rule-making body. GPS has continental federations with Europe, Asia, South America, and America. They are following the international Olympic structure of getting international Olympic recognition.”(Aditya Khanna)
ET Now Global Business Summit 2025
We are working strongly with the Asian Pickleball Association and the Global Pickleball Federation to take this (Pickleball) to the Olympics as well. That's the dream—to have Pickleball as an Olympic sport in 2036 when it happens in India:… pic.twitter.com/DdvCyEP51k
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) February 16, 2025
Path to Olympic Recognition
India is positioned as the second-largest pickleball market after the United States. According to Khanna,
“In India, we play a strong part as India is a Pickleball giant. After the USA, India is number two. In India, we are getting the governance structure right. We have aligned ourselves with GPF and the Asian Pickleball Association (APA). GPS currently has 60-65 members already aligned with them. We are helping them form the Asian bodies. From an Asia perspective, we are choosing the right partners who can develop Pickleball rightly in the Asian countries.”(Aditya Khanna)
Both Kohli and Khanna are determined to push for pickleball’s Olympic recognition, especially with India bidding to host the 2036 Games. Kohli outlined India’s leadership role in making this vision a reality, stating,
“It is a single-point agenda. 2036 Olympics in India for Pickleball to be an Olympic sport and India to have its first gold medal in Pickleball. For that governance needs to be right. India is going to lead the charge in that. With the participation and the Hockey Stick growth, we are going to see, it is going to be critical we take the onus on ourselves. With the Olympics going to happen in all probability in India, I think it becomes even more imperative that India takes the lead to get International Olympics Committee (IOC) recognition and getting the Olympics in India.”(Pranav Kohli and Aditya Khanna)
Future Prospects
India’s intention to host the 2036 Olympics was confirmed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the 141st IOC session in Mumbai in October 2023. The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has already submitted a ‘letter of intent’ to the IOC’s Future Host Commission. With structured governance and increasing grassroots participation, India is aiming to not only host the Olympics but also establish pickleball as a globally recognized Olympic sport.
News in Brief: Pickleball Will Be an Olympic Sport
Pranav Kohli and Aditya Khanna, leaders of Pickleball World Rankings (PWR), are pushing for pickleball’s inclusion in the 2036 Olympics, which India aims to host. They emphasized India’s growing role in the sport and the importance of governance. The upcoming PWR DUPR India League is expected to further strengthen grassroots development and global recognition.
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