Now Reading: Two women, 60+, make India squad for Pickleball World Cup
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Two women, 60+, make India squad for Pickleball World Cup
Shakuntala Devnani and Petulia Balaji, both aged over 60, have been selected to represent India at the Pickleball World Cup in Da Nang, Vietnam, from August 30 to September 6. Times Now…
Shakuntala Devnani and Petulia Balaji, both aged over 60, have been selected to represent India at the Pickleball World Cup in Da Nang, Vietnam, from August 30 to September 6. Times Now reports that Devnani, who started playing pickleball recreationally, won four gold medals at national trials in Haryana to earn her place in the senior squad. Balaji, 62, will compete in four events including singles, doubles, mixed doubles and the team event in the 60+ category.
Balaji, a former javelin thrower who gave up sports due to financial constraints, is a founding member of the Tamil Nadu Pickleball Association. She told Pickleball Now the sport helped her recover from injuries and stay fit. Devnani said she was ecstatic and grateful to make the squad. Both players are training ahead of the tournament, with Devnani focusing on varying her pace and Balaji undergoing strenuous workouts and coaching in Chennai.
Indian Opinion Analysis
Both Times Now stories frame the selection as an inspirational, feel-good human-interest narrative, emphasising personal determination and late-life achievement rather than competitive stakes or federation politics. The coverage is uniform in tone and lacks any critical or government-angle framing. The balanced reading is that pickleball's growth in India is being driven by grassroots advocates like Balaji, who helped build the Tamil Nadu association from 13 to 800 players. The number to watch is how many Indian medalists emerge from the 60+ categories at the World Cup.
The coverage is uniform straight reporting with a human-interest angle. The number to watch is how many Indian medalists emerge from the 60+ categories at the World Cup.
Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral
Sources (2): timesnownews.com (neutral report), timesnownews.com (2) (neutral report)
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
