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Dilli Dillwale emerged as the World Pickleball League (WPBL) 2026 champions with a thrilling 3-2 win over Chennai Super Champs in the final held at the Jio World Garden tonight. The Sunil Gavaskar co-owned outfit came back from losing the opening women's singles match to secure triumphs in three out of the remaining four matches.
Dilli's Max Manthou was adjudged the Player of the Tournament, whereas Katerina Stewart and Ly Hoang Nam got the Band of Honour for winning the most points amongst women and men respectively, in this campaign, according to a release. Rika Fujiwara began the outing in her trademark dominating demeanour, overcoming her Dilli Dillwale opponent Alejandra Lopez by 27-3. Right from the commencement of the tie, the seasoned Grand Slam star held an extreme stronghold over the proceedings, refusing to cede an inch, which gave the Super Champs a firm foot ahead in the fixture straightaway. Following this was the mixed doubles match, where Max Manthou and Trang Huynh paired up to edge past Ly Hoang Nam and Carlota Trevino by 11-10. The Dilli duo edged past Nam and Trevino by a slender single-point margin in a match that went right down the dying embers of the summit clash. Nam stormed back after trailing significantly in the men's singles match, overcoming Vinh Hien Truong by 15-13. The game was stuck at 12-12 with around a minute to go, before Nam channelled his serious competitive spirit, which had propelled him to a Wimbledon boys' doubles win alongside Sumit Nagal in 2015, to clinch the match by 15-13. The women's doubles produced an equally invigorating encounter. Trang Huynh partnered with Mihae Kwon and sneaked past Trevino and Domenika Turkovic by 11-10. In the men's doubles fixture, Dilli Dillwale left nothing to chance. Max Manthou and Erik Lange smashed home a 14-6 result against Tanner Tomassi, who was alongside Do Minh Quan for most of the encounter. Chennai used their 'Pickle Play' option to bring Nam onto the court temporarily, but Dilli held their ground to lay their hands on their maiden WPBL crown. INDIVIDUAL PRIZES Player of the Tournament: - Max Manthou (Dilli Dillwale) Band of Honour (Male) - Ly Hoang Nam (Chennai Super Champs) Band of Honour (Female) - Katerina Stewart (Bengaluru Jawans). (ANI)
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