The PWR-DUPR India League and Tour was launched amidst great fervour at the ITC Grand Central in Mumbai. The mega event was graced by the likes of Andre Agassi and Rohan Bopanna. The mastermind behind the rise of pickleball in India, Times Group MD Vineet Jain was also present at the event.

In his speech, he highlighted how pickleball has risen in India, and also expressed his ambition to make it a mainstream sport in the country.

Here is what he said during the event:

"Good afternoon. It is a pleasure to stand before you today, as we mark a significant milestone in the growth of pickleball in India with the launch of the PWR DUPR India League and Tour.

We are excited to have tennis legend and pickleball enthusiast, investor and player, Andre Agassi at the launch of this league. We are equally excited to have former world number one doubles tennis player- India's very own Rohan Bopanna, with us today.

I am especially thankful to our Honourable Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, for his kind words of support and encouragement to this new-age sport. He could not be here in person but was kind enough to record a speech for the benefit of the Pickleball community in India and abroad.

The Times Group is proud to be an anchor investor in PWR, a path-breaking initiative that unifies the global pickleball community through its national and international league, tour events and ranking system. The Times Group is known for its innovation and for being ahead of the curve in every one of its initiatives.

To drive Pickleball’s popularity and take this sport to a larger audience, we have launched our digital platform “Pickleball Now” focused exclusively on pickleball content. We, along with the Indian Pickleball Association, plan to host the National Pickleball Championship from 23rd to 26th January 2025 at our Times Group's Bennett University --which is proud to have 10 pickleball courts.

India is one of the fastest growing markets for pickleball. We were pleasantly surprised to see 800+ player entries and a large audience at the recently held PWR India Masters event in Delhi in October. This further confirmed our belief that Pickleball in India is set to grow exponentially. Player participation, infrastructure, and facilities in pickleball are seeing growth not only in metros --but also in smaller cities.

We are clear that we want to make pickleball a very major mainstream sport in India and create a robust ecosystem benefitting players, fans, team owners, investors and infrastructure providers. Accordingly, we have signed up with the best global and Indian talent to play in our League. This will make it more competitive, improve the standard of the game in India, drive fan engagement and bring newer audiences and players to the sport.

PWR India League is supported by the Indian Pickleball Association (IPA), the Asian Pickleball Association (APA), and the Global Pickleball Federation (GPF), all of which are credible governing bodies with international recognition.

As we begin on this journey together, I encourage fans, players, and stakeholders to join this exciting ride and make pickleball a household name in India - while raising the level of the sport very significantly.

I would like to thank Andre and Rohan for their presence here today and look forward to seeing them play a fun and exciting match to launch the PWR DUPR India League. I would also like to thank Jonty Rhodes, for being part of this event.

Thank you, and let's celebrate the sport of pickleball together!"

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