# India’s top padel star Austin Varghese targets Olympic inclusion 2026-08-27T03:12:57+00:00 | Sports | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Austin Varghese, India's highest-ranked professional padel player, says networking matters more than tournament results in the sport. The 40-year-old scripted history last year by becoming the first Indian to qualify directly into an FIP Bronze main draw in Jakarta. Varghese trains three gym sessions and three on-court sessions a week, emphasising recovery as he competes against younger players. He says Asia still lacks professional depth, forcing players to change partners frequently. He partnered Peter Potasch at the FIP Silver in Bali. Varghese hopes padel secures a spot at the 2032 Olympics, but warns India must register every player, rank them from zero, and run a domestic calendar first. He plans to open an academy, having already run clinics in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Calicut and Dubai. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Padel, a racket sport combining tennis and squash, has a global governing body, the International Padel Federation (FIP), which runs a tiered tour system (Bronze, Silver, Gold). India has fewer than 50 FIP-registered players, a fraction of Spain's thousands. For an Indian player to enter a main draw directly, as Varghese did in Jakarta, requires earning enough FIP points through smaller events, then finding a partner with compatible ranking points. The FIP Silver and Bronze tournaments typically offer 26 or 32 pairing slots. The sport's Olympic inclusion depends on a bid to the International Olympic Committee, the 2032 Games host, Brisbane, has not yet confirmed the final sports programme, with a decision expected around 2025, 2026. The immediate measure of Varghese's push is whether he can field a stable partnership across the Asian Tour stops in 2025. ## Coverage - timesnownews.com Leads with Varghese's own positive framing of networking and experience, no outside criticism or government angle This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: Austin Varghese, Bali, Padel Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/indias-top-padel-star-austin-varghese-targets-olympic-inclusion/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/indias-top-padel-star-austin-varghese-targets-olympic-inclusion/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/