Greater Noida: In an exciting showdown at the fourth IPA Pickleball Nationals held at Bennett University, top seed Rahul Belwal took home the 35+ category title by defeating fellow Delhi player Santosh Bhagat in a thrilling three-game match on Saturday.

While many expected the match to be a breeze for Belwal, the unseeded Bhagat surprised everyone with his impressive performance, pushing Belwal to the limit before the final score read 11-4, 10-11, 12-10 in favor of Belwal.

Belwal, boasting a DUPR (Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating) of 4.924, entered the final after a dominant 15-3 win against fourth seed Yuvraj Singh. He started strong, controlling the first game and leaving little room for Bhagat. However, Bhagat, who had previously upset second seed Samrat Ghosh with a 15-11 win in the semis, capitalized on Belwal's mistakes to snatch the second game 11-10, setting the stage for a nail-biting decider.

The third and final game was pretty much a one-sided affair for a while, with Bhagat looking poised to pull off a surprise against Belwal after jumping to a 7-0 lead. However, the top seed flipped the script and, even though he was down by four match points, made a strong comeback to clinch the third game 12-10 and secure the title.

Priyanka claims the 35+ women’s title

Top seed Priyanka Mehta proved her worth by winning an exciting three-game match against second seed Monica Menon in the 35+ women’s singles final. After dominating the first game 11-2, Priyanka seemed on track for an easy win, but Monica fought back to take the second game 11-5. The final game was tightly contested, but Priyanka edged it out 11-9 to take home the title.

Kavita takes the 50+ women’s singles title

Third seed Kavita Khanna surprised everyone by defeating top seed Babita Langthasa in the women’s 50+ singles final. Coming off a strong semi-final performance, Langthasa was expected to shine, but Khanna took the first game decisively at 11-3. Despite a tough fight from the top seed in the second game, Khanna managed to win it 11-9 and claim the title.

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