(ECNS)— Pickleball made its debut as an official event at the Sichuan Provincial Games, underscoring the growing popularity of the once-niche sport in southwest China.
The competition at the Linshui County Olympic Sports Center in Guang’an concluded Monday evening with the awarding of the final gold medal.
The competition featured four age categories — junior, youth, middle-aged and senior — and included singles, doubles, mixed doubles and mixed team events. A total of nine gold medals were awarded.
The event attracted 379 players from 17 teams, placing it among the mass sports events with the highest participation at the provincial games, Xinhua News Agency reported.
In the men’s doubles final, Li Zaizhi of Chengdu and his partner claimed the title. “After working hard and persevering for so long, I have finally earned this meaningful honor,” Li said. He first discovered pickleball through a friend’s post on WeChat Moments and quickly fell in love with the sport.
For Guang’an team member Qin Xiaobi, competing close to home offered a chance to witness pickleball’s rapid rise from a niche activity to a widely recognized sport.
More than 300 people now play pickleball in Linshui County, Qin said. All 28 members of the Guang’an team were local players from Linshui. The team secured third place in men’s singles and fourth in both women’s doubles and mixed doubles.
After several years of promotion, Sichuan now has more than 100,000 pickleball participants, with people aged over 50 accounting for about 40% of the total. Players range in age from eight to 80, highlighting the sport’s broad appeal.
(By Helen Mo, intern Wu Jingjing)
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