DAVAO CITY — Hard-hitting pickleball action takes centerstage as the Pickleball Champions League (PCL) Asia Rising Stars U19 Sectoral tournament unwraps on Wednesday at the Pickletown Sports Center here.

Kosmas Athletic Ventures Corporation operations director Rickard “Dickie” Bachmann said they are expecting a huge turnout as more athletes are starting to take up the fastest-growing sport in the country.

“We are expecting some 900 entries for this tournament and we expect to have exciting matches,” said Bachmann, a former Philippine Sport Commission chairman who co-organizes the event along with Sunrise Events Inc.

The five-day competition is a team-based tournament aimed at identifying and developing the next generation of elite pickleball athletes across Asia.

“Pickleball is a fast-growing sport in the international scene and soon it will become an Olympic sport. That is why we want to have a structured pathway for athletes and build strong local and regional partnerships,” Steve Kun, PCL chairman, added during the press launch on Tuesday at the Acacia Hotel.

The tournament features the U19, Newbie (2.0-2.99), Low Intermediate (3.0-3.49), High Intermediate (3.5-3.99) and Open Divisions across the 20+, 35+ and 50+ age brackets.

Winners will then earn slots to the PCL-Asia Asian Finals that would be held in China.