“Pickleball has given me a specific direction in life…….”

with Anand Kumar Singh

DOB:              20^th February 1982

State:             Bihar

City:               Patna

Club:              Bihar Pickleball Association

Anand Singh has been one of the pillars of Bihar Pickleball since 2014. It was that time when the selection for the 4^th National Pickleball Championship was undergoing in Patna. Anand took part in the trials and performed exceptionally well. Though he had no such experience in the game, but still for his sheer sporting intellect he was not only selected but also was appointed the captain of the Bihar team.

“I whole-heartedly thank Ranjan Gupta, the backbone of Bihar Pickleball Association, for keeping faith in me. He is the person who always helps me with advices and tips about how to improve my game. It is for his hardwork that the Bihar team has reached to this level. Then there are other players from Bihar who collectively made various efforts to promote this game in the state. ”

Anand Singh played his first competitive Pickleball match at Andheri Sports Complex in Mumbai in 2014. Since then, he has been regularly representing his state in national tournaments. He even represented India in Bangkok Open in 2017 and won the gold medal in Men’s Doubles.

“Pickleball is not so expensive; so I always try to bring in such new players who cannot afford playing expensive sports. I want to give them a specific direction through Pickleball. Siddharth Kumar is one such player with whom I won gold in Bangkok Open. So that win was very satisfying and will always remain special in my mind.”

Pickleball has given an aim in Anand Singh’s life. He is promoting the game in schools, societies and offices to add more players.  

“We are all working towards government recognition. We are trying to bring this game under state sports association. But before that it has to be more popular among people. So we give constant demonstrations in institutes, residential societies etc. But at the same time the paddles and balls have to be made more accessible. If the cost of good-quality paddles becomes less, then more and more players can afford their own accessories.”

MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS

• Gold in Bihar, Jharkhand & Madhya Pradesh Friendship Cup, 2015
• Bronze in 3^rd National Pickleball Championship, 2016
• Gold in Bangkok Open, 2017
• Silver in Federation Cup, 2017
• Bronze in Mixed Doubles in 5^th National Pickleball Championship, 2018
• Silver in Men’s Doubles in Nepal Charity Pickleball Open, 2019