New Delhi, April 2026: With pickleball gaining traction globally and increasingly in India’s urban and corporate communities, CII Indian Women Network (CII-IWN), in association with Usha, will host the Usha CII-IWN Pickleball Invitational in New Delhi on April 26 at REPPP, Mehrauli. 12 corporate teams comprising of approximately 70 participants, including business leaders, entrepreneurs, and professionals, will participate in a mixed team reinforcing collaboration and equal participation on court and played in a Davis Cup-Style forma t. This event showcases a significant shift in how corporate India is moving beyond traditional boardroom settings and adopting fitness as an important part of their lifestyle.
Usha’s collaboration with CII-IWN is particularly significant, given the network’s focus on women’s leadership and takes forward Usha’s larger vision of enabling emerging sports and encouraging wider participation across communities, especially inclusive, community-driven sporting experiences.
At the centre of this initiative is CII-IWN’s continued focus on enabling women leaders and building platforms that foster visibility, confidence, and cross-industry collaboration. While women today hold only around 18–20% of leadership roles across corporate India, participation in sport presents an additional gap, with less than 30% of women in urban India actively engaging in sports or fitness activities. Creating accessible and inclusive formats is therefore critical to expanding both participation and representation.
Participating teams include leading names such as Usha, Lovak Capital, and Bajaj Capital Insurance, among others, with players ranging from senior leadership to emerging professionals – highlighting the growing adoption of sport-led engagement within corporate ecosystems. By introducing pickleball into its programming, CII-IWN is extending its leadership mandate into a format that is contemporary, inclusive, and reflective of evolving professional lifestyles.
Speaking on the association, Ms Komal Mehra, Head – Sports Initiatives and Associations, Usha International, said, “Supporting the larger sporting ecosystem wherein we can empower and enable communities to adopt an active and healthy lifestyle is deeply entrenched into our foundation, especially when it means encouraging more and more women. We believe gender agnostic, inclusive sports go a long way in neutralising power dynamics to grow the team spirit and sportsmanship across ecosystems and are in sync with what the Usha CII-IWN Pickleball Invitational is setting out to achieve.”
Ruchika Jain, Chairperson, CII-IWN, added, “We are delighted to welcome Usha International as the Title Sponsor of the CII-IWN Pickleball Invitational. Their commitment to promoting inclusive sports and empowering women strongly aligns with our vision at CII-IWN. This collaboration strengthens our effort to create meaningful platforms where women leaders can engage, compete, and connect. We look forward to building this initiative together and driving greater participation through sport.”
With participation from corporate teams and a curated set of players, the invitational is expected to bring together a diverse mix of professionals, reflecting the evolving role of sport as a shared space for leadership, interaction, and community-building.
For more information, please visit @cii-iwnpickleballinvitational and @usha_play on Instagram.
