Pickleball World Cup: Telangana contingent wins 13 medals in Vietnam

Telangana's pickleball contingent returned from the Heineken Pickleball World Cup in Vietnam with 13 medals, including two gold, seven silver and four bronze. Hyderabad stars Vivek Reddy, Sanjana Sirimalla and others led a strong showing across multiple singles and doubles categories

Hyderabad: Hyderabad’s pickleball stars have made India proud on the international stage at the Heineken Pickleball World Cup 2026 in Da Nang, Vietnam, returning home with an impressive haul of medals across singles, doubles and mixed doubles categories.

The Telangana contingent secured a remarkable 13 medals, including two gold, seven silver and four bronze, making it the highest medal-winning state contingent from India at the World Cup and underlining Hyderabad’s growing reputation as one of the country’s leading pickleball hubs.

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Former national-level tennis player and now a leading national-level pickleball player Vivek Reddy won gold in the 40+ men’s singles category, defeating Vietnam’s No. 1 player Hoang Nguyen in a thrilling three-set final, 15-12, 9-15, 15-11, which lasted more than 45 minutes at the Tuyen Son Sports Center.

He also added a bronze medal in the 40+ men’s doubles category, partnering fellow Hyderabadi Sreekar Mothukuri. The pair defeated France’s Alexis Petiprez and Chile’s Rodrigo Hernandez 21-19 in the third-place playoff at the Truong Son Pickleball facility.

Sanjana Sirimalla was another standout performer from Hyderabad, winning two silver medals at the World Cup.

She claimed silver medals in the open women’s singles and women’s doubles categories after overcoming several higher-seeded opponents.

A two-time national tennis champion, Sanjana has previously represented India at the World Junior Championships, Fed Cup and Sub-Junior Wimbledon. She also holds the Open Women’s Singles title at the Monsoon Open.

Siddharth Reddy added multiple medals to Telangana’s tally, including a silver in the 40+ men’s doubles, partnering Vishal Choudhary, and another silver in the 40+ mixed doubles alongside Fayrouz Zaidi.

Fayrouz Zaidi enjoyed a memorable World Cup campaign, winning gold in the 40+ women’s singles category in addition to her mixed doubles silver.

Former cricketer Nikhil Tummalapalli also brought home a medal, winning alongside his partner Vignesh in the 30+ men’s doubles category.

Telangana’s young talent also made its presence felt on the international stage, with Ashrita winning silver in the U18 category and Diya Matipatti securing bronze. The duo then teamed up to win another bronze medal in the U18 girls’ doubles category.

Vishnu Vardhan, Olympian and secretary of the Telangana Pickleball Association, said the performance was a strong reflection of the depth and quality of pickleball talent emerging from the state.