India Dominate Opening Day at Pickleball World Cup, Stay Unbeaten

India made a strong statement on the opening day of the Pickleball World Cup in Da Nang, Vietnam, going unbeaten through the league stage of the team event.

The Indian pro squad produced a dominant display, defeating Antigua and Barbuda and Israel 6-0 before overcoming the Czech Republic 5-1 in their final league match.

Harsh Mehta, Arjun Singh, Anish Froilan, Aman Patel, Pearl Amalsadiwala, Naomi Amalsadiwala, Aaliya Ebrahim and Mihika Yadav formed India's pro squad and delivered a clinical performance across all three ties.

Each tie featured six matches, women's doubles, men's doubles, two mixed doubles encounters, women's singles and men's singles. India won every match against Antigua and Barbuda and Israel before dropping just one against the Czech Republic.

The impressive run has earned India a place in the Round of 32, where they will face Portugal on Friday.

India's senior squad also enjoyed a productive opening day, defeating Germany and Nepal 4-0 in their respective ties and giving the contingent further momentum as the competition moves into the knockout phase.

The strong showing comes after India had already made an impact at the tournament, collecting 37 medals — six gold, 16 silver and 15 bronze.

With both the pro and senior squads producing commanding performances, India will now look to carry the momentum into the knockout rounds and mount a serious challenge for honours at the World Cup.