Pickleball chain GoRally raises $750,000 to accelerate pickleball growth in India

Homegrown pickleball chain GoRally has raised Rs 6.6 crore (or $750,000) in a pre-seed funding round to fuel its rapid expansion and cement its leadership in India’s booming pickleball ecosystem. 

The round was led by Sujeet Kumar (Co-Founder, Udaan; ex-Head of Ops, Flipkart), with participation from key investors including Mohit Kumar & Vatsal Singhal (Founders, Ultrahuman), Viren Singhvi (ex- CFO of American Razor Safety co), Kartik Kapoor (East Africa Racquet Sports), Abhishek Goyal (Founder & CEO, Tracxn), Deepak Singh (Founder & CEO, Gameskraft & AnzyGlobal), Arjun Vaidya (Founder, V3 Ventures & Dr Vaidya’s), Bharat Founders Fund, an IITD syndicate, and several US investors amongst others.

GoRally's market presence

Founded in February 2024 by Sam Sancheti (ex-Bain, Visa, IITD) and Abhinav Shankar (ex-Lightrock, VenturEast, Oxford), GoRally has emerged as the fastest-growing pickleball network and community in India.

The startup claims that it operates four centres across Bengaluru with 15 courts, including its flagship 15,000 sq. ft. indoor facility near Indiranagar, and a 4000-strong, thriving Whatsapp community.

“Pickleball’s rise in 2024 exceeded even our most ambitious expectations. Our mission is to continue building best-in-class, accessible facilities, events, and tech-driven platforms that ultimately foster the sense of community that urban Indians crave," said Sam Sancheti, Co-Founder of GoRally.

Purpose of fundraising

With this funding, GoRally will focus on scaling to eight centres and 40 pickleball and 2 padel courts by April 2025.

The upcoming centers include indoor pickle-padel arena GoRally Whitefield, a 40,000 sq ft facility. It will also launch its Tech platform this month to streamline the community experience, including its popular ‘Open-play’ game format.

The startup said it will continue to expand its coaching services (its full-time coaches include Karnataka’s top 2 players) and build out its equipment retail business (it already distributes some of the world’s top brands like Joola), making it a full-stack player tapping into the recreational sports boom anchored by Pickleball & Padel.

Beyond Bengaluru, it plans to expand to other major cities like Delhi and Chennai later this year through strategic partnerships, whilst staying operationally profitable.

“Our goal is to get the next 10 million Indians playing sports,” added Abhinav Shankar, Co-Founder of GoRally. “We are just scratching the surface of what’s possible. From families to first-time players, we’ve seen pickleball become more than just a sport—it’s a social phenomenon. This round sets the foundation for the next phase of our journey, and we’re excited to scale our impact across India.”