India claim maiden bronze medal

Mumbai : India’s first-ever international team for Padel secured third place in the first edition of the Asia Pacific Padel Cup, which was played in Bali, Indonesia, from September 19 to 22, the Indian Padel Academy informed on Monday. The event is the first-ever padel competition between nations held in the Asia Pacific region.

The Indian team, selected by the Indian Padel Academy, defeated Malaysia 3-0 in the bronze medal match to finish behind the Philippines and Indonesia in the six-nation event. The other participating countries were China and Singapore.

Padel, also called padel tennis, is a racket sport of Mexican origin and is played in an enclosed court, just like squash, slightly smaller than a doubles tennis court. Each match, played between two teams, comprises doubles matches with solid, stringless bats with balls that look similar to normal tennis balls. Each game starts with the ball being served, which must be at or below the waist level.

The Indian team had a four-day camp at the JSW Inspire Institute in Vijayanagar, near Toranagallu village of Ballari district in Karnataka, under Spanish head coach Victor Perez, the Indian team, accompanied by coach Imran Yusoof and manager Rithik Sinha, have put the country on the international padel map. Aryan Goveas and Rahul Motwani, who opened all the matches for India, began strongly in the bronze medal match against Malaysia, winning 4-6, 6-4, 7-5. Tulsi Mehta and Vaibhavi Deshmukh made it 2-0 for India, winning their encounter 6-2, 7-6 (1), while the second girls pairing of Jenai Billimoria and Johan Fernandes wrapped up the best-of-five tie, with an easy 6-0, 6-1 victory.