CRICKET ICON Mahendra Singh Dhoni has strengthened his presence in padel by merging 7Padel by MS Dhoni with PadelPark India, forming a unified national platform aimed at rapid expansion, stronger community engagement and a more professionally structured ecosystem for the sport.
According to a media release, JSW Sports founder Parth Jindal has been an early investor in PadelPark India since August 2024. Dhoni’s entry as a partner in the merged entity further reinforces institutional confidence in the platform and is expected to act as a key catalyst in driving padel’s next phase of growth in India.
PadelPark India currently operates more than 40 owned and managed courts, while contributing to a wider national footprint of over 200 courts delivered across the country. The organisation has set an ambitious target of expanding this network to 400–500 courts within the next year, significantly improving access to padel infrastructure nationwide.
The sport’s rapid global rise is also reflected in the World Padel Report 2025, released by the International Padel Federation (FIP) in December, which noted that padel now boasts over 77,300 courts across 150 countries.
Further underlining its momentum, the FIP and its continental body Padel Asia announced in November 2025 that padel has been officially recognised by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and will feature as an official sport at upcoming editions of the Asian Games.
Dhoni said, “In a country with over 10 million racquet sport players, Tier-1 cities have already shown how quickly padel can grow. The next step is taking that momentum into newer markets and making the sport accessible beyond the metros. Once courts are available, people will take to it naturally – padel is social, it’s played in doubles, and it’s built around community, which suits India. And with PadelPark India’s 360° ecosystem – from courts and coaching to tournaments and community programmes, we can scale with consistency and build padel as a professionally run sport across the country.”
PadelPark India co-founder Nikhil Sachdev shared, “This unification represents more than a partnership; it marks a shared belief in how padel should grow in India. Bringing 7Padel MS Dhoni together with PadelPark India creates a single, aligned platform capable of elevating standards, strengthening participation, and building long-term credibility for the sport. Dhoni’s leadership, values, and clarity of thought add tremendous depth to our mission. Together, we now have the structure, vision, and momentum to define the future of padel in India.”
