Khaitan feels Indian pickleball players will benefit immensely from the Global Sports Pickleball League (GSPBL) which will get underway from December 16 and go on till the 23rd at the Andheri Sports Complex in Mumbai

With the Global Sports Pickleball League (GSPBL) scheduled from December 16-23 at the Andheri Sports Complex, GSPBL co-founder Shashank Khaitan shared his thoughts on pickleball, its growth and potential and much more in this exclusive Q&A with The Free Press Journal.

Excerpts...

I'll just start off by asking, what are your thoughts on the Global Sports Pickleball League starting on December 16th?..Your expectations from the league..

We're really looking forward to showcasing this to the world, our partnerships in terms of our streaming broadcasting partners with Zee5 coming on board. So we're really, I think, seeing a surge in pickleball. We're also seeing a surge in the world wanting to watch it and come and play. And for us specifically with the league, with us having such a grand event spread over almost 8 days of December. We're really hoping that people, not just the players, but also a lot of people come and just participate, view it, and really see what pickleball is all about.

Shashank, how do you see the growth of pickleball in the last couple of years and the potential it has going forward as a popular sport?

I think the growth and potential both have been enormous and I think Global Sports as a company had seen it three years back. And we've been actually meticulously working towards building it and growing it for the last three years. In fact, a lot of the growth that you see today is because of the marketing push and the celebrity collaborations Global Sports managed to bring to the game from where pickleball actually became a household name. Even if people have not played it or seen it, they've heard of it.

And I think that was a real early battle for us to fight for the first year, year and a half. So the growth has been amazing. I think the potential of Indian players is amazing. Some of the Indian players have been creating their name world over, really competing with the best in the world. And I think even from a standpoint of what the game is, I think India is going to be a key contender even when it comes to Olympics and other key tournaments.

I think what's really important is how all the stakeholders of the game in India, whether it's the federations, associations and private players like us continue to build pickleball in its right way and ensure that players have opportunities, coaches, managers have opportunities and more and more people can make a career out of pickleball. And I think once that starts happening, it will actually penetrate the system much deeper.

Shashank, this initiative of yours is not just targeted at promoting pickleball through professional leagues, but there is also an emphasis on coaching camps and player development programs. Could you just elaborate on that aspect?

Yes, absolutely. Coaching camps, player development programs and also something for who we called the people who love playing the game, maybe not professionally. So for the lack of a better word, calling them amateurs or challenger level players. Our idea is really to create pickleball into this community activity, which can be sports, which can be fun, which can be recreation. And then it can be a pro sport as well. We also want to help bring in early training into pickleball so that less and less injuries happen. People start training for pickleball at an early age.

Shashank Khaitan (2nd from right) |

As with every sport, the more you know about it, the better you get about it. And soon we start seeing people from a very young age compete professionally as well. And then the guys who are 30+, 40+, 50+, 60+, they also come and experience tournaments on an everyday basis, experience the joy of this game. So I think for us, that is really, really critical that how a person who wants to become a pro player versus someone who also just wants to play it for recreation ends up having equal amount of fun.

Shashank, talk us a bit through the events that Global Sports Pickleball has hosted so far and your experience with the conduct of those events.

So we have actually scattered it from an events perspective into 3-4 small bits. One is our marquee events, which this year we are doing one of the biggest marquee events in the world called the Indian Pickleball Grand Slam, which happens in December along with the leagues 16th to 23rd. Other than that, we have created certain IPs called the Indian Open and the Monsoon Pickleball Championships, which have been events we have been running for the last 3 years.

They are events which the world has taken notice to. Some of the best players across the world like to come and play that and it has really made a global mark. And then besides that, we do a lot of smaller tournaments in different cities of India. We have a tournament happening in Goa in fact, as we speak, it's going on. It's over this weekend. We have done events in Ahmedabad. We have done events in Surat, in Baroda. And the idea is to keep going into smaller towns as well.

Shashank Khaitan (extreme left) |

So that the scope of pickleball increases, the awareness of pickleball increases, people realize that there are tournaments and leagues happening across the world. And of course, the idea of the league was to really ensure that there are more stakeholders of the game working towards growing pickleball. So that's how we have always kind of looked at things. And so, this combination of tournaments, leagues, infrastructure, trying to build some of the best courts around. And then as you already mentioned, the coaching programs, the player signings. Just overall ensure that there is a massive boost to the whole pickleball ecosystem. Lovely. Shashank, you are from the world of entertainment and the movies primarily.

How did pickleball happen to you and what got you hooked on to the sport?

I think I have always been an athlete all my life. I started playing tennis very, very early in life. And I have played the junior international circuit. I have played multiple other sports as well. So, even as I continue to be a film-maker and work in the film industry, I was always connected to sport from a recreational perspective or an exercise perspective. And it was during one of these tennis games that I actually discovered pickleball. And genuinely the first time I played the game, I felt deeply connected to the game.

I really felt that this is my game. This is something I want to do something in. And that's how the idea of finding who the best people in the business are. That's how I found Global Sports. And then we started chalking out a plan of saying how do we create this into one of the premier companies promoting pickleball all across India and the world and the Middle East came about. So, it came from two things. One is my passion for sport and just as a player. And one is also a business opportunity to see what more can we do with this game and how can we really expand the portfolio of Indian sport.

Just one last question, Shashank, what would you tell sports lovers who would be eager to attend Global Sports Pickleball League in December? What can they look forward to? Your opinion.

I think multiple things. One is great quality pickleball. Secondly, an opportunity to just come and try. There are going to be multiple courts over there. So, even players coming in, the idea is that beginner level, never played a sport, can come, pick up a paddle, try and hit a few balls around and really experience the world of pickleball. Also, experience the world of the pickleball community. Just to see so many different pickleballers from across the world come in over there, showcase their talent and I think that will be something that will be really, really exciting for the world to watch. And then to enjoy the atmosphere because there is going to be music, there is going to be food counters, there is going to be shopping counters. Just to come and overall experience what does it mean to be a part of the pickleball world. So, I think there is something to look forward to for everybody. And I think 8 days is a good opportunity for everyone to come to the Andheri Sports Complex and really experience the Global Sports Grand Slam and the leagues.