1 day Ago By Shashank Didmishe
1 2 Pune: Sports stores in the city are overwhelmed with the start of long summer breaks as school examinations are over and parents are scrambling to enrol their kids for summer activities. Cricket, swimming and badminton continue to dominate the field, however, pickleball and padel are emerging as alternatives to traditional sports for those who want to avoid the rigmarole of skill-based sports such as cricket or tennis. "These new sports are gaining traction as they are multiplayer, where all members of the family can participate.
Padel has an element of squash built into it and is a faster and more intense sport compared to pickleball. Padel and pickleball are ideal sports as they are not physically demanding compared to other sports," said Pravesh Advani, who plays padel for a few hours after office. While swimming remains popular, this year reveals a remarkable six-fold increase in demand for pickleball and padel equipment in Pune and Mumbai, informed Meherab Bhaya, head of Decathlon in Pune.
An operator running a padel and pickleball facility said, "There were hardly any courts for padel and pickleball until recently. Pune is far behind other cities like Bengaluru, Mumbai and Kolkata in terms of awareness of these sports. However, many facilities have come up in the city now, so the culture of these sports will develop.
" Priyanka Jain, who operates Pickleball One, said the newness of the sport is driving people to it. "The game is not taxing. It is suitable for all ages, including young children to senior citizens," she said.
These new sports, however, are not completely dominating other sports. Purchases of weights and dumbbells have surged, and so have badminton and tennis racquets. Sales of fitness equipment saw a 40% increase in 2024, while those of badminton and tennis equipment grew by 25%, according to the e-commerce platform, Amazon.
"Summer is a pivotal season for engaging with young athletes and their families, driving nearly 30% of Decathlon's annual kids' product sales and 24% of overall footfalls from young sports enthusiasts," Bhaya added. "There is still a lot of interest in cricket gear, including Kashmir willow bats, gloves, pads, guards and helmets. Just last week, we sold cricket equipment worth Rs6,000 to an NRI who originally hailed from Pune," said the owner of Deo Sports.
The 90-year-old shop is also packed with yoga mats, which the owners attributed to a rising trend in wellness and fitness. Izhaan Sayed, a cricketer and a supplier of sports equipment said pickleball has become more popular than padel because of the economics involved. "Pickleball is coming up on a larger scale compared to padel because the latter is more expensive.
It costs around Rs15 lakh to set up a padel court, while it takes only Rs3-4 lakh for a pickleball facility," Sayed said..
