Mumbai, Aug 21 (IANS): The first day of the Monsoon Pickleball Championship witnessed winners in seven categories of the championship conducted by Global Sports.

Ritesh Jaiswal and Anjali Pol won their respective Advance Men’s and Women’s Singles categories beating Rohin Rajani and Manika Bharghava. 50+ Men’s and Women’s were dominated by Niten Kirtane and Shakks Devnani.

The second edition of the tournament is expected to be bigger than the flagship edition in both talent and participation with Westin Mumbai Garden City on board as hospitality partners. Eight more categories will be played on Day 2 of the championship held from August 20-25 at NESCO, here.

Day two will also be witness to an exhibition match between top international players that will include headliner Jay DeVilliers and international pickleball stars like Quang Duong, Ryler DeHeart, Rob Nunnery, Megan Fudge DeHeart, Roos VanReek and Emilia Shmidt. This exhibition match is a unique opportunity for all aspiring and intermediate pickleball players in India to learn from the best talent that pickleball has to currently offer.

The Monsoon Pickleball Championship powered by Vedanta boasts of prestigious partners that will be pivotal to the success of the MCP 2024.

The Championship offers a total of $100,000 (close to INR 1 crore) prize money that will be up for grabs for all participants in the 47 categories ranging from Open PRO, 19+ intermediate, 30+ Open, 40+ Open, 50+ Open, 18+ Open, 60+ Open, Split Age 35+.

Conducted by Global Sports, who has etched its legacy in the dynamic world of Pickleball in India and was started by four individuals who belong to different streams of businesses: Hemal Jain, Suresh Bhansali, Niraj Jain and Divyesh Jain.

Most recently, Karan Johar -- film producer and director -- partnered up with Global Sports to facilitate events such as the Monsoon Pickleball Championship.