Namma Bengaluru's pickleball team

Bengaluru Chargers are the city's team in the Karnataka Pickleball Premier League. In between matches we have one job: getting the rest of Bengaluru to pick up a paddle.

Why pickleball

Pick up
a paddle.

It's the sport you can learn before lunch and still be arguing about at dinner. Here's why the whole squad thinks you should try it.

Twinkle Dane hitting a forehand1

Learn it in an afternoon

Underhand serve, small court, a ball that gives you time. You'll be rallying before your coffee gets cold.

Emily Thorn ready at the net2

Any age, any level

Eight or eighty, the court doesn't check IDs. Fair warning: your mum might be better than you.

Emily Thorn and Sanjay VR playing doubles3

Doubles is a social plan

Four people, one small court and a lot of shouting "mine!". Louder than a group chat, and more fun.

Captain Dinakar Naidu lining up an overhead4

A sneaky workout

You'll chase dinks for an hour and only notice the step count the next morning.

Your first game

Four steps.
Zero excuses.

01

Find a court

Search "pickleball near me". Plenty of sports venues across Bengaluru now have courts you can book by the hour.

02

Borrow a paddle

Ask the venue if they lend or rent paddles before you buy one. Any paddle works for game one. The fancy one can wait.

03

Bring three friends

Doubles needs four. If you only bring one, the regulars will happily make up the numbers.

04

Learn four rules

That's genuinely it. Pickle School below covers all four in under a minute.

Official anthem

Paddle up.
Fly in the air.

Seventy-eight seconds of Bengaluru, from the rooftop tanks to the Silk Board flyover, with the whole squad in the frame. Learn it, then sing it at your next game.

Sing along
Namma Bengaluru has a new noise
Bengaluru! Chargers!
Paddle up pickleball, fly in the air
Every point is nammade
Hodi maga, hodi maga, hodi maga
Namma ooru. Namma game.
No fear
Hodi maga!
The squad

Meet the Chargers.

Eight players and a coach who play the way the city drives: fast, loud and slightly unpredictable. Hover to get closer. They don't bite. The bull might.

Dinakar
Dinakar Naidu
Dinakar NaiduCaptain
Anuja
Anuja
AnujaIcon player
Emily
Emily Thorn
Emily ThornSquad
Ritam
Ritam Chawla
Ritam ChawlaSquad
Yash
Yash Gaikwad
Yash GaikwadSquad
Vignesh
Vignesh
VigneshSquad
Sanjay
Sanjay VR
Sanjay VRSquad
Twinkle
Twinkle Dane
Twinkle DaneSquad
Krishna
Coach Krishna
KrishnaCoach
Look around

Bengaluru just
changed colour.

Autos, metros, water tanks, filter coffee. The bull has been spotted on most of them. If you haven't seen one yet, you aren't looking up enough.

Auto rickshaw in Chargers colours
Auto anna is in
Namma Metro wrapped in Chargers colours
Next stop: the court
Filter coffee with a Chargers coaster
Filter coffee, now charged
Hoarding above the Silk Board flyover
You survived Silk Board
Street mural of the bull
The walls are in
Auto anna is in
Next stop: the court
Filter coffee, now charged
You survived Silk Board
The walls are in
Rooftop water tank painted with the bull
Rooftop regular
Giant inflatable pickleball in a park
Slightly oversized ball
Airport arrivals display
Welcome home, now shout
Fan with a Chargers flag
Face paint optional
Building mural at dusk
Hard to miss
Rooftop regular
Slightly oversized ball
Welcome home, now shout
Face paint optional
Hard to miss
Learn the chant

HODI MAGA

ಹೊಡಿ ಮಗ
HO-dee · MA-ga

Kannada for "smash it, buddy." Two words, no excuses. Press the button, say it back, then say it louder. Repeat until your neighbours join in.

Chanted 0 times this visit
Pickle School

Four rules.
That's the syllabus.

Tap through them. Pass this and you know more than most people at their first game.

LANDS HERE 1 2 NO VOLLEYS 7 FT EACH SIDE 11 – 9

Serve underhand, go diagonal

Contact below your waist and send it to the box diagonally opposite. It has to clear the kitchen, or it's a fault.

Twinkle Dane pointing her paddle at the camera
Join the Chargers

This paddle's
pointing at you.

Yes, you, the one scrolling. Find a court this weekend, play your first game, and tell the bull how it went.

FollowSquad news, Pickle School tips and the occasional meme. Mostly memes.
Tag #HodiMagaPlayed your first game? Post it, tag us. The squad is watching the tag.
Come cheerWhen KPPL announces what's next, you'll hear it from us first.