New Delhi: One of the fastest growing sports in the world, Pickleball has found it’s way to the national capital as well. Pickleball World Rankings, the unified global ranking system for pickleball players, hosted the PWR India Masters Pickleball Championships at the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association in New Delhi from October 24th to October 27th, 2024. This was one of the biggest pickleball events hosted in the country and it certainly had that feel to it.
The tournament saw a whopping 750 players compete over the span of these four days with them battling it out for a prize pool of $50,000. Top players from around the world competed at the event with the likes of USA’s number one ranked, Sofia Sewing and the top seeded player at the tournament, Dustin Boyer. Other names that were competing at the championships included two of India’s best pickleball players, Armaan Bhatia and Aditya Ruhela.
Armaan Bhatia lit up the tournament and ensured that he reached the finals of all three event categories he was a part of. Bhatia headed into the finals being the only player at the championships who was chasing a treble, having reached the finals of all, the men’s singles, doubles and the mixed doubles category. Dive in to find out how the action folded on the final day of the event.
Women’s Singles Final: Sofia Sewing vs Kao Pei Chuan
Sofia Sewing, women’s singles champion. (Image Credits: Pickleball World Rankings)
The final of the women’s singles categories put an exciting clash between two of the best pickleball players in the category. Chinese Tapei’s Kao Pei Chuan challenged USA’s Sofia Sewing after both of them overcame tough opposition in their respective semi-finals. Pei had a tough fight against Bhatia’s mixed doubles partner, Rook Van Reek but overcame her by 11-6, 4-11, 11-4. Sofia had a tough fight in her semis as well but defeated Somer Dalla-Bona in straight sets to set up the final clash. This set up the final between the top seeded and the third seeded players at the tournament.
Sofia’s dominant tournament continued in the same fashion in the final as well as she comfortably beat Kao Pei Chuan in straight sets to be crowned the champion. The game started off as a tough intense fight between the two and Pei was the first to get points on the board. However, once Sofia got level on 2-2 after going 2-0 down, there was no stopping her and she won the first game comfortably by 11-3. The second game offered little challenge for the American as well as she romped up to a 5-0 lead before eventually winning that as well by 11-2. This win at the India Masters tournament marked her first ever tournament win in pickleball.
Men’s Singles Final: Armaan Bhatia vs Dustin Boyer
Armaan Bhatia, Men’s Singles Champion. (Image Credits: Pickleball World Rankings)
The marquee match of the single’s tournament saw India’s number one pickleball player, Armaan Bhatia take on the tournament’s top-seeded player, Dustin Boyer. Armaan smashed his way into the finals after a convincing win in the semis as he beat Willy Chung 11-4 and 11-1 to seal his spot in the finals. Boyer reached the finals after beating Australia’s Tom Evans 11-7, 4-11, 11-8 to set up this exciting clash and what transpired tonight, was worthy of a finals clash.
Bhatia triumphed in a nail-biting final which looked like going either way. He started strong, initially taking a 3-0 lead, but Boyer showcased his resilience, and battled back to win the first game 11-8. Bhatia then produced one of the best comebacks ever to bounce back to two successive wins. After Boyer slipped midway through the second game, Bhatia seized the moment to clinch the second set 11-9. Playing the decider, the match seemed all but over for Bhatia after Boyer had taken an 8-0 lead but Bhatia showed incredible spirit to crawl his way back to victory with an 11-8 scoreline to bag the title.
