Pakistan Gets Own Pickleball Moment With Zain Waseem—and He Made It Count Twice Over
Pakistan’s pickleball scene has been building quietly for a while now, mostly out of the international spotlight. Zain Waseem just dragged it firmly into view. The Shapes Gym Lahore player claimed gold in the men’s 30-plus singles category at the 2026 Pickleball World Cup in Da Nang, Vietnam, and did it the hardest way possible—beating Indian opponents in both the semi-final and the final to get there.
A Genuine Marker of Growth
It’s worth pausing on what a result like this actually signals for a country that isn’t exactly known as a pickleball hotbed yet. A gold medal at a genuine World Cup, earned by knocking out two separate Indian players en route, doesn’t happen by accident or from a single enthusiastic gym in Lahore alone. It suggests a level of coaching, competitive infrastructure, and player development that’s been quietly taking shape behind the scenes, only now surfacing on a stage big enough for the rest of the world to notice.
Khawaja Nadeem Ahmed, owner of Shapes Gym, was quick to frame the win in exactly those terms, praising Waseem for bringing honour to Pakistan through both his ability and his conduct. “Winning a gold medal at the Pickleball World Cup is a great achievement,” he said. “What makes it even more remarkable is that Zain defeated Indian players in both the semifinal and final to achieve this feat.”
Nadeem didn’t stop at praise, either—he’s now pushing for the kind of official recognition that could turn one player’s breakthrough into something the whole sport benefits from. “I especially request Punjab Sports Minister Malik Faisal Khokhar, Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to acknowledge his achievement and announce a substantial reward for him,” he said, arguing that proper recognition wouldn’t just reward Waseem, but would give other Pakistani athletes a genuine reason to chase the same level of international success.
Waseem’s Gesture That Transcended the Scoreline
What actually elevated this result beyond a strong tournament run, though, happened after the final point was played. Once the win was secured, Waseem invited his Indian opponents to join him on the podium—a small gesture on paper, but a genuinely pointed one given the well-documented chill that so often colours anything involving India and Pakistan, sport very much included.
It would have been entirely understandable for Waseem to simply enjoy the moment alone, medal around his neck, rivalry settled on the scoreboard. He chose otherwise. Standing alongside the very players he’d just beaten sent its own quiet message: that respect between the two nations’ athletes can exist independently of whatever tension sits above it, and that a podium can be shared even when a final couldn’t be.
That combination—genuine competitive achievement paired with a gesture that reached beyond the court entirely—is precisely why Nadeem described Waseem’s conduct as reflecting sport’s broader values, not just its scoreboard. Pakistan gained a World Cup gold medallist this week. It also gained a rather good example of what winning with real class actually looks like.
