Airbenders win mixed gold at TRIO Invitational, lifting Indian Ultimate
Airbenders left Putrajaya with mixed gold and the No. 1 ranking at the TRIO Invitational 2026, turning a three-day run in Malaysia into a defining result for Bengaluru Ultimate. The club completed five games at Putrajaya Equestrian Park from July 3 to July 5 and was rated on spirit in all five, finishing with a perfect 100% spirit mark while beating a field that included teams from Australia, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Malaysia, China, Hong Kong, Thailand and Vietnam.
For spirit captain Sahana Arvind, the result felt surreal and emotional, and that reaction matched the scale of the win. This was not a routine domestic title or a one-off travel trophy. It came on an international stage, against a mixed division stacked with regional programs, and it gave Indian club Ultimate a result that now stands as a benchmark for what a Bengaluru side can do abroad.
The finish also fits the way Airbenders have built themselves. The club says it began on December 22, 2012, as sessions among childhood friends and schoolmates in West Bengaluru. From that small start, the program has grown to more than 100 players and enthusiasts, a scale that helps explain how the club has developed the training base, roster depth and mixed-division chemistry needed to win in a field like TRIO.
There is also a clear line between this gold and the club’s earlier milestones. In 2017, Airbenders finished 13th out of 22 teams at the Asia-Oceanic Ultimate and Guts Club Championship in Manila, after eight games and four wins, a result the team described as the highest-ever finish by an Indian club at the time. That same tournament also put them third in spirit in the men’s division. Eight years later, the same club has moved from setting national benchmarks to winning internationally, a shift that reflects how much more established Indian Ultimate has become. India Ultimate still describes Airbenders as a team that continues to compete in the top category in India, and the TRIO result now gives that status a gold-medal proof point.