Assam pickleball team selected for 2026 Nationals after state trials in Guwahati

Players from across Assam competed in the state selection trials for the Indian Pickleball Association (IPA) Nationals 2026, with winners across 16 categories earning the opportunity to represent the state at the national championships.

The two-day trials, held on October 31 and November 1 at Stryde Arena in Guwahati, brought together participants from Guwahati, Jorhat, Dibrugarh and Silchar, among other places. Organised by the Assam Pickleball Association (APA) in partnership with Kaziranga Pro Sports Network, the competition was sanctioned by the IPA and graded as a PWR 400 event.

The trials featured multiple age and gender categories, including singles, doubles and mixed doubles, with players competing for a limited number of places in the Assam contingent.

Partha Pratim Dutta won the open men's singles title, while Neer Arohan Medhi emerged victorious in the boys' under-14 singles category. Other singles winners included Vinayak Thakur (men's 30+), Deepanjan Deb (men's 40+), Ashish Jain (men's 50+), Venkatachalam Gopalan (men's 60+), Manaswinee Hazarika (women's 30+) and Nazneen Rahman (women's 40+).

In the doubles categories, Harsh Bagrodia and Kavya Bagrodia won the open men's doubles title, while Udipta Gogoi and Vinayak Thakur secured the men's 30+ doubles crown. Deepanjan Deb and Harsh Bagrodia won the men's 40+ doubles, with Shibasish Dutta Gupta and Ashish Jain taking the men's 50+ title.

In mixed doubles, Upasana Nath and Vinayak Thakur won the open category, Manaswinee Hazarika and Udipta Gogoi claimed the 30+ title, while Nazneen Rahman and Debasish Borah emerged victorious in the 40+ category.

Vinayak Thakur was the standout performer, securing three titles in the men's 30+ singles, men's 30+ doubles and open mixed doubles categories.

Manaswinee Hazarika, Nazneen Rahman, Harsh Bagrodia, Deepanjan Deb and Udipta Gogoi each won two titles.

Parashmani Das of Guwahati was named the most promising player of the tournament.

Assam Pickleball Association secretary Nazneen Rahman said the standard of competition across categories reflected the sport's growing popularity in the state.

"Every month, we welcome new players into the community, and these selection trials have demonstrated how deeply the sport has travelled across the districts, with emerging talent raising the bar," Rahman said.

She said the association hoped the Assam contingent would improve on its performance at last year's Nationals and secure more medals in the 2026 edition.

The association attributed the sport's growing reach in Assam to grassroots initiatives, coaching clinics and an expanding player community across districts.

The selected players will now prepare to represent Assam at the IPA Nationals 2026.