The Amalasadiwala sisters – Pearl and Naomi – emerged as players with an abundance of promise and potential at the IPA Nationals in Bengaluru who not only displayed unprecedented dominance but also brought to the fore their sibling bond and sisterly rivalry all at the same time.
They shared six medals between themselves, with Pearl achieving a golden hat-trick. Their dominance in the open events turned out to be a reflection of their hard work, tireless training, and endless pursuit of victory.
Pearl, 19, and Naomi, 16, have grown up training side by side, playing table tennis and gymnastics before they switched to pickleball. In the last two and a half years, they trained together and knew each other’s strengths and weaknesses like the backs of their palms. It also made their task of anticipating each other’s strategy easy, while making them a formidable pair in women’s doubles. At the Nationals, their chemistry and rivalry came to the fore, intriguing the crowd as they returned home holding their heads high.
The sisters first propelled Maharashtra to the state team gold, and then on Saturday, Pearl got the better of her sister Naomi in the open mixed doubles final. Pearl, pairing up with Divyanshu, defeated Naomi and Arjun Singh in the final. Less than 24 hours later, the sisters switched sides -this time joining forces to win the open women’s doubles title together. The Mumbai duo conceded only one point as they stunned the local pair of Sharmada Balu and Monica Menon 15-1 in the final.
“Naomi and I have been playing for a while now, and we are proud to win so many titles,” Pearl told Pickleball Now after winning the open women’s doubles gold medal.
Sisters’ bond
The transition from rivals to partners is something the sisters accept with an unusual clarity for their age. Pearl, being the older of the duo, also takes the responsibility of guiding her sister when they are not opponents, and Naomi admits the hierarchy is almost instinctive.
“She takes the call and guides me,” Naomi, a Class 11 commerce student, said, pointing to Pearl with an unfiltered smile. Pearl nodded, adding that the understanding is drilled in hours before they ever step into a match. “We practise every day together as well as against each other. Our strategy and our shots. I know her game inside out and she knows my game inside out – which is an advantage when we play together and a disadvantage when we play against each other.”
Their routine is built on hard work – three to four hours of training a day at the Andheri Sports Complex, including what Pearl, a second-year B.Com student, describes as “simulation practice” that recreates match situations.
Friendly rivarly
Their backgrounds, too, are different but complementary. Pearl’s earlier years were spent as a national-level table tennis player, while Naomi approached sport through the fluid strength of gymnastics. Naomi eventually stepped away from gymnastics for reasons that sound mature and deliberate: “Because I see pickleball as a career.”
Pearl’s stance aligns perfectly with her sister’s. “Definitely, we both see it as a serious career option,” she said. And yet, beneath the discipline and ambition lies a sibling bond that refuses to take itself too seriously.
“I am vowed to beat her when I meet her next time,” Naomi said, wearing a smile on her face and acknowledging her place as the younger challenger. Pearl did not miss a beat. “I will try to dominate and try to be on the top position.”
Their rivalry is soft-edged, almost tender – a push and pull that keeps them moving forward. As they walked off court with the open women’s doubles gold, it was Naomi who summed up the heart of their journey: “I am very happy to share the court with my sister and I have a lot of fun here.”