Racquetball in Puducherry

Reviewed profileAchievements, tournaments, coaches and FAQs on this page are compiled by hand from federation, government and press reporting, drawing on Indian Racquetball Association (indianracquetball.com), Wikipedia — Racquetball in India, India national racquetball team, Racquetball World Championships, International Racquetball Federation (internationalracquetball.com). These are not cited to individual documents: we hold no per-claim source for them, so treat dates, counts and career records here as a summary rather than a reference. Sections we hold nothing for are left empty. Sport pages last reviewed as a set: September 2026.

Overview

Origin: 1950 USA
Category: Racquet
Olympic discipline: No
Paralympic discipline: No
Central pathway: Federation and state pathway
Athlete profiles on SportSupport: 0

Governance and status

Each field below is shown only where we hold a source for it; anything else reads “Not currently verified” rather than a guess. Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports recognition is granted year by year, so it is only ever shown with the year it applies to. Last reviewed: September 2026.

Indian governing/organising body: Indian Racquetball Federation
Ministry recognition: Not currently verified
International federation: Not currently verified
Khelo India inclusion: Not currently verified
TOPS eligibility: Not currently verified
Olympic status: Not on the Olympic programme
Paralympic status: Not a Paralympic discipline

Racquetball is listed on SportSupport in the racquet category. Its recorded origin is 1950 USA. It is not on the Olympic programme. We list Indian Racquetball Federation as the Indian governing/organising body for the sport.

Racquetball has a federation and state-level pathway in India, and athletes selected through Indian Racquetball Federation may be eligible for state sports-quota employment and state cash awards where their state notifies the discipline. TOPS does not apply, as the discipline is outside the Olympic programme.

Scholarships & Funding

Central, state and private scholarships available for racquetball athletes in India.

Khelo India Talent Identification & Development (KITID)
Stipend, boarding, coaching and kit at accredited centres for talent identified through the Khelo India selection process (Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports). Applies only to disciplines on the official Khelo India Games list, and only to athletes it selects.
National Sports Development Fund (NSDF)
Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports fund used to sponsor elite athletes' training, foreign coaches and equipment. Allocations are made case by case; we hold no record of NSDF support specific to racquetball.
Pension for Meritorious Sportspersons
Lifetime monthly pension for retired internationals who meet the scheme's medal criteria at Asian, Commonwealth or World Championship level — Government of India. Whether a given racquetball event counts depends on the scheme's notified list.
State sports quota and government employment
Many states reserve government and public-sector posts for national-level medallists. Which racquetball events and which certifying bodies a state accepts varies by state, so check your state's current notification.

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Indian Players

No profiles yet

No athlete profiles are recorded for racquetball yet. We only list athletes we can source, so this section stays empty until verifiable profiles exist.

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Rules

Racquetball is played inside a fully enclosed 20ft x 40ft court in which the front wall, side walls, back wall and ceiling are all in play. Points are scored only by the server; a rally is won when the opponent fails to return the ball to the front wall before it bounces twice. The serve must be struck from the service zone and reach the front wall first, and the server gets two attempts. Games are played to 15 points (a decider to 11), with matches typically best of three. There is no tin as in squash — the ball may be played off any combination of walls and the ceiling, which makes rallies faster and more three-dimensional than in squash.

Authoritative rulebook: Indian Racquetball Federation. Age-group and school-level variations are published by SGFI and the state associations each season.

Positions

Typical roles across racquet sports. These are category-level descriptions, not a sourced racquetball squad list.

Singles
One-on-one match — the standard individual format for ranking events.
Doubles
Two-a-side format with different court coverage and serve/return patterns.
Mixed doubles
One male and one female partner — a distinct discipline at multi-sport meets.

Equipment

Standard kit and infrastructure required to train and compete in racquetball at a federation-recognised event.

Short racquet (maximum 22 inches including the frame) with a mandatory wrist safety tether
Hollow rubber ball, 2.25 inches in diameter, in speed grades from slow (blue/green) to fast
Protective eyewear — compulsory in sanctioned play at every level
Non-marking indoor court shoes with lateral support
Gloves for grip in humid conditions
Fully enclosed 20ft x 40ft four-wall court with a glass back wall for viewing

Governing/organising body

Body listed on SportSupport

Indian Racquetball Federation

Indian Racquetball Federation is the body we list as the Indian governing/organising body for Racquetball, and state associations affiliated to it run age-group competition. We hold no current-year Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports recognition record for it, so this is not a statement of current recognition — recognition is granted year by year.

Origin: 1950 USA
Olympic: No
Paralympic: No
Category: Racquet

All federations →

Major Indian Events

Domestic competitions we hold a source for in racquetball.

India Open Racquetball Singles Championship
First held in Hyderabad in 2014. The Indian Racquetball Association (IRA — evolved from the Amateur Racquetball Federation of India, founded 2009, later the Racquetball Association of India) is the body we list as the Indian governing/organising body; we hold no current-year Ministry recognition record for it and do not present it as the sole national body.
Grassroots development
IRA has been expanding infrastructure, including India's first racquetball court in Northern India, built at The Mount School in Sirsa, Haryana, alongside IRF-supported training camps and a first regional tournament (32 players from 14 states).

International Events

Continental and world-level competitions we hold a source for in racquetball.

World Racquetball Championships
India has competed continuously since its 1998 debut — one of the longer-standing Asian participants in the event. Six Indian athletes qualified for the 2026 edition in Temuco, Chile: Vineet Singh, Ravi Sohoni, Alok Mehta, Pratham Vilekar and Sumeet Kamat.
IRF Asian Region
India is a member alongside roughly two dozen other Asian countries and territories.

Leagues

No dedicated professional league is currently catalogued for racquetball. The national championship under Indian Racquetball Federation remains the top domestic competition.

All leagues →

International Players

Globally recognised racquetball athletes to know outside India.

The international federation for racquetball maintains the current world ranking — check the federation site for the up-to-date top names.

Career Options

Ways to build a career in racquetball — on the field, on the sidelines and behind the scenes.

Sudhanshu Harshavat won gold at the Promus US Open Racquetball Championship (Memphis, 1999) — an early individual highlight for Indian racquetball
Alok Mehta has been a recurring captain/coach across multiple national teams (2014, 2016, 2018 and beyond), reflecting the sport's reliance on a small core of committed, largely self-funded athletes and organizers in India
Playing pathway through IRA's developing state infrastructure and international partnerships with the IRF
The sport remains genuinely niche in India relative to squash and badminton, offering real ground-floor opportunities as courts and coaching expand

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Related academies

0 listed

No racquetball academies are catalogued in the directory yet. Browse the full academy list or list your academy to appear here.

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FAQs

Common questions about racquetball in India.

Who governs Racquetball in India?▾

We list Indian Racquetball Federation as the Indian governing/organising body for Racquetball, and state associations affiliated to it run age-group and state-level competition. We hold no current-year Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports recognition record for it, so this is not a statement that it is currently a recognised national sports federation — recognition is granted year by year.

Is Racquetball an Olympic sport?▾

No, Racquetball is not on the Olympic programme.

How do I start playing Racquetball in India?▾

The usual routes are a school team under the School Games Federation of India (SGFI), a college team under the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), or a private academy affiliated to your state association under Indian Racquetball Federation. Age-group state championships follow from there.

What government schemes support Racquetball athletes?▾

TOPS does not apply, as Racquetball is outside the Olympic programme. State-government cash awards or sports-quota employment can apply where a state notifies the discipline, which varies by state. Racquetball does not appear on the official Khelo India Games discipline list, so we make no Khelo India claim for it.

Racquetball in every state & UT

Dedicated pages for Racquetball in each Indian state and Union Territory — academies, schemes, athletes and how to start.