LANZHOU: With the sound of machine processing, workers manufacture pickleball paddles made of carbon fiber in a workshop.
Wearing his glasses, 55-year-old Dou Xincai carefully inspects different batches of pickleball paddles sent by his colleagues. After a while, the pile of paddles on the table was so large it obscured his body.
The factory where Dou works, located in Ningxian County of Qingyang City on the Loess Plateau of northwest China’s Gansu Province, was established in 2020 in Liangping Village at an altitude of 1,200 meters.
This is the first pickleball paddle manufacturer that has played an important role in the pickleball industry in northwest China.
Originating in America and Europe, pickleball has been described as a combination of tennis, badminton and table tennis.
Yang Kai, the factory’s owner, said that one needs to bat back to his or her partner or partners when a small plastic pickleball soars through the air on the court.
“It appears to be a game for all ages. The ball is lightweight because it’s full of holes,” said Yang, adding that there was much less impact on the body than when striking a tennis ball. –Agencies
