Rise Up Championships Pickleball Chennai: Pickleball is rapidly growing in India, attracting players across age groups from 16 to 45. The Rise Up Championships Pickleball event, a three-day tournament in Chennai, aimed to promote the sport while combining entertainment and lifestyle experiences. The event was created by Selvakumar Baalu, a former tennis player and motorsport team owner.
Promoting Pickleball in India
Selvakumar Baalu said, “I felt that anything apart from cricket doesn’t get the attention and support it deserves. There are a lot of downsides to sports in our country if it isn’t cricket. I wanted to start something that would bring a lot of people together. I have a lot of friends who play pickleball, but there weren’t any avenues to support talent and nurture it. So I wanted to create a platform where everyone could come together and support each other. And the kind of support could be anything from infrastructure to support and that’s how RUC was born. We wanted to bring like-minded people together and support each other.”
Veera, a thespian involved in promoting pickleball in Chennai, added, “Pickleball is the fastest growing sport and everybody’s taken to the sport right from ages 16 to 45 and on. This is the first PWR100 event in India and I’m thankful to the associations for bringing it to Chennai.”
Pickleball uses a tennis-like net and paddles but is played on a smaller court, similar to badminton. Baalu explained, “There is a lot of buzz about pickleball, as it is something that is very affordable. You don’t need a huge space; it can be done both indoors and outdoors. Pickleball, unlike tennis or badminton, the chance of injuries are less. The access to it is easier too. We use a plastic ball, and you get hurt easily. And that is one of the reasons why anyone can get into it without much training.”
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Creating a Lifestyle Experience
The event combined sports, entertainment, and lifestyle. Baalu said, “The whole idea about putting together a lifestyle by combining the glitz and glamour to give a festive feel to any sport. Pickleball is our first venture, and we look to take it to a bigger scale. Chennai could be termed as the cultural capital, and we have the second-longest beach. People talk about going to Goa or Bangalore in terms of concerts, and we thought Chennai should enter the fray too. And so it is a combination of sport and entertainment.”
Veera added, “Mr Selva was set on making the first of its kind event as exotic as possible and give the audience a lifestyle experience. And as for Chennai, we like to celebrate the coastline of the city and hence we went all out to create a space for the event with the pickleball court by the bay. We wanted to make it a lifestyle experience for everyone who comes in and to enjoy a full day with the families. The synergy of sport and entertainment has been a factor globally and is gaining traction in India as a lifestyle proposition in recent years. IPL changed the game for everyone with film stars buying into it.”
A music festival alongside the tournament featured local bands, headlined by Masala Coffee. Baalu said, “We identified a lot of bands that have been around, and we were surprised to see how much the crowd loved the local bands.”
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The Future of Pickleball in India
With players from Chennai set to represent India at the World Cup in Miami, stakeholders see pickleball as a growing sport. Veera said, “India’s got the infrastructure, the talent and the thirst. It is a lot of time and energy that’s got to be spent in the next couple of years, but I feel India has got the talent for every sport in the world. Youngsters are taking more to sports now. India is getting sportified, Tamil Nadu is getting sportified. And the way I see it, this is a great time for players, associations and government organisations to get into the sport.”
Baalu added, “Tamil Nadu government has always been very supportive of sports. And the tournament here doesn’t require as much support as we created this on a lawn. Hence, these type of tournaments do not necessarily need a lot of government involvement. India is big on sport. There’s at least one sportsman in every family, so I guess it comes naturally to us. We have gone from hardcore academics to a more balanced lifestyle inculcating sport, so I guess it is just up and up here on out.”
News in Brief: Rise Up Championships Pickleball Chennai
Pickleball is rapidly gaining popularity in India. The Rise Up Championships in Chennai, organized by Selvakumar Baalu and supported by Veera, combined sports, music, and lifestyle experiences. The event attracted players aged 16 to 45 and showcased India’s growing talent, infrastructure, and potential in pickleball.
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