logo
HVR Solar Illuminates Kolkata Thunderblade's UTT Season 6 Campaign as Energy Partner

HVR Solar Illuminates Kolkata Thunderblade's UTT Season 6 Campaign as Energy Partner

India, 28th May, 2025 - In a significant boost to the burgeoning sport of table tennis, HVR Solar Pvt Ltd, a leading name in renewable energy solutions, has announced its partnership with the Kolkata Thunderblades as their official Energy Partner for the upcoming Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) Season 6. This collaboration underscores a shared vision for innovation, sustainability, and fostering sporting excellence.
The Ultimate Table Tennis Season 6, set to electrify audiences in Ahmedabad from May 31 to June 15, will see the newly formed Kolkata Thunderblades making their highly anticipated debut. The team, co-owned by the Uneecops Group and MVikas Group, aims to bring a fresh dynamic to the league, leveraging Kolkata's rich sporting heritage.
Speaking on this exciting partnership, Mr. Rishabh Aggarwal, Co-Founder & Director at HVR Solar Pvt Ltd, expressed his enthusiasm: "We at HVR Solar are thrilled to be the Energy Partner for the Kolkata Thunderblades in UTT Season 6. Just as solar energy powers a sustainable future, we believe in powering the dreams and aspirations of talented athletes. This partnership aligns perfectly with our commitment to innovation, efficiency, and growth. We look forward to witnessing the Thunderblades light up the arena with their exceptional performance."
Mr. Sagar Sachdev, Director at HVR Solar Pvt Ltd, further added, "Table tennis, like solar energy, demands precision, agility, and foresight. We see a strong parallel between the relentless pursuit of excellence on the table and our dedication to providing cutting-edge, sustainable energy solutions. We are excited to contribute to the Thunderblades' journey and help them achieve their peak performance, both on and off the court."
The Kolkata Thunderblades, led by co-owners Ketan Jain and Rajat Kumar, both former national-level players, are poised to make a significant impact in their inaugural season. Their deep understanding of the sport, coupled with a vision for nurturing talent, makes this partnership a natural fit.
Ketan Jain, Co-Owner of the Kolkata Thunderblades, shared his excitement about the collaboration: "We are incredibly excited and delighted to welcome HVR Solar as our Energy Partner. Their commitment to sustainable solutions and a brighter future resonates with our team's ethos. This partnership will provide us with the energy and support needed to build a formidable team and create a strong presence in the UTT. Kolkata has a passionate sporting culture, and we are eager to give our fans a team they can proudly rally behind."
Rajat Kumar, Co-Owner of the Kolkata Thunderblades, echoed these sentiments: "Having HVR Solar on board as our Energy Partner is a testament to the growing appeal of table tennis and the potential of the Kolkata Thunderblades. Their expertise in sustainable energy solutions will not only power our team but also inspire us to strive for environmental consciousness. We believe this partnership will be a driving force in our quest for success in UTT Season 6."
The UTT Season 6 promises to be a thrilling spectacle, bringing together top Indian and international paddlers. With the support of HVR Solar, the Kolkata Thunderblades are ready to make a thunderous entry and aim for glory in their debut season. This collaboration signifies more than just a sponsorship; it's a partnership that unites the power of renewable energy with the electrifying energy of elite sports.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Ankur Bhattacharjee, the table tennis prodigy with shades of Virat Kohli and Truls Moregard
Ankur Bhattacharjee, the table tennis prodigy with shades of Virat Kohli and Truls Moregard

The Hindu

time01-08-2025

  • The Hindu

Ankur Bhattacharjee, the table tennis prodigy with shades of Virat Kohli and Truls Moregard

His aggression at the table evokes visions of Virat Kohli. So do more than the dozen tattoos he sports. His unconventional technique reminds you of Truls Moregard, the Swede who stormed into the men's singles final at the Paris Olympics. And he worships Grand Slam winner Zhang Jike. Creating a stir But, amidst all this, there are a few who wonder whether he can translate his exploits at the junior level to the open category. The house is definitely divided on how to bill Ankur Bhattacharjee, the teenager from Kolkata who has created a stir in the world of table tennis. More than his consistent top-five Under-19 World ranking, it's his uncanny ability to force formidable opponents onto the back foot that has catapulted him to the top of 'the next big thing' ladder in Indian table tennis. The men's game in the country finds itself at a crossroads. A. Sharath Kamal — the flagbearer for two decades — has hung up his boots. Harmeet Desai and G. Sathiyan are in the latter half of their careers. Manush Shah and Manav Thakkar, the spectacled duo, have been close to cementing themselves at the top of the Indian charts. ALSO READ | Divya, the girl who could become chess queen Against this backdrop, Ankur's rise from sapling to slowly spreading banyan offers hope. His achievements at 18 have rarely been matched even by the best at this age. Unbeaten in age-group categories on the domestic circuit for three years, he has already tasted success in Senior National Ranking events. He broke into the national squad for the World Championships earlier this year. On the world circuit, Ankur — he is coached by father Anshuman; mother Kuntali is also a former paddler — is placed at No. 3. He has not left the top-10 since February 2025. Despite Ankur having excelled at various levels, many believe he is far from being the finished product. One of them is Jorg Bitzigeio, the German coach with whom Ankur spent three weeks training earlier this year. Much of the scepticism has to do with the Indian's maverick technique. While table tennis is a forehand-dominant sport, with the backhand playing the supporting role, Ankur is an exception. He covers most of the table with his backhand, producing both top-spin and rocket winners that breach even the best defence. His wrong-footed stance leaves his extreme forehand corner vulnerable, but he compensates with his ability to surprise opponents. He uses the jab effectively, imparts side-spin from various angles and is super-agile, reaching virtually every possible ball. The combination makes Ankur an effective, watchable proposition. This was on display time and again during Ultimate Table Tennis' sixth edition, where he justified the faith shown in him by his home franchise Kolkata ThunderBlades. For the second year in succession, he was among the leading Indians, accounting for fancied opponents. As a result, while Indian table tennis is divided over Ankur's ability and his backhand-oriented technique, he isn't rattled by it .'Since 2017, I have been hearing that you can't have your backhand as your main weapon. First of all, I don't think of myself as a backhand-only player. And I have been working on my game over the last two years,' Ankur told The Hindu during UTT. 'No player is perfect and everyone has a stronger flank. There is no harm in having your backhand as your strong suit, but I am working on my overall technique anyway.' The right mix For the last two years, Ankur and Anshuman have been focusing on improving his efficiency in the forehand corner without sacrificing the backhand as his USP. It's his ability to execute unimaginable backhand strokes that has drawn comparisons with Moregard. 'I have heard this a lot — rather overheard it — that he can be India's Truls, but I know I have a long way to go. Playing the men's World Championships is just the start.' Had it not been for a parental push, though, Ankur could well have followed in the footsteps of his sporting idol — Kohli. Sensing that cricket is an expensive sport even for beginners, his paddler parents directed him to a table. In less than two years after first gripping a racquet, Ankur became India No. 2 in the cadet category. There has been no looking back. Ankur's day in Kolkata, when he is not travelling the world, is consumed with table tennis. ALSO READ | Nikhat Zareen reiterates 'hunger to win medals' ahead of World Boxing Championships 'The day starts with fitness training from 8 to 10 a.m. Then a half-hour break. From 10.30 to 3 o'clock, I practise, and again in the evening from 6 to 9, I am back at the table,' he says. Mental training? 'Nothing formal yet, but I have found my own little techniques that help me.' One recent method is listening to the Hanuman Chalisa, a devotional hymn. Early in 2025, he was feeling low at the start of a WTT event in Cappadocia, Turkey. 'I wasn't playing well. Before the first match over there, I listened to it by accident and won. 'I kept on playing it before every match that week and went on to win the U-19 title, beating Benyamin Faraji [a top junior], who had entered the tournament on a high, beating a men's top-30 player in the earlier week. Since then, I play Hanuman Chalisa before every match.' It doesn't take much time to figure out that Ankur is a religious youngster. After all, his first tattoo was a depiction of 'Lord Shiva, since I am a Shiv-bhakt'. 'They have started calling me a Bengal tiger, so I recently got a tiger tattooed as well,' he says, with a sheepish smile. God-fearing and soft-spoken in general, he turns into a livewire at the table, even rubbing his opponents the wrong way. 'Being aggressive comes naturally to me. In fact, it spurs me on. Sometimes I need that adrenaline rush, so I don't mind being ultra-aggressive,' Ankur says. Perhaps it's a trait he has imbibed from Kohli. He can't choose among Kohli, Hardik Pandya and Zhang, should he be given the opportunity to meet one. 'I am in awe of all of them. When I am not playing table tennis, I am either watching cricket or a Zhang Jike match,' he says. During the IPL, when Punjab Kings checked into the same hotel as the UTT entourage, Ankur had hoped for Royal Challengers Bengaluru to join them in the final. But Kohli & Co. were in another hotel and Ankur's demanding schedule meant he could neither seek an audience with his hero nor watch him in action. Keeping it simple But he knows he has plenty of time to fulfil his wish-list of meeting the trio. And he realises that rather than trying to make it happen — or spell out his aspirations of winning an Olympic or a Commonwealth medal — he wants to keep it simple. 'All I need to do is to keep improving and working harder with every passing day,' he says. 'If I can do that, I know I will achieve much more than what I have. The goals can keep getting revised, I am only starting now. There's a long way to go.'

‘Power game, ‘recovery' – Yashaswini Ghorpade's learnings from foreign Table Tennis players
‘Power game, ‘recovery' – Yashaswini Ghorpade's learnings from foreign Table Tennis players

Indian Express

time10-07-2025

  • Indian Express

‘Power game, ‘recovery' – Yashaswini Ghorpade's learnings from foreign Table Tennis players

Indian upcoming TT player Yashaswini Ghorpade lost 13-11, 11-9, 11-3 to Japanese Miwa Harimoto over the weekend at the US Smash, a top tier tournament internationally. Though she has managed to re-enter the Top 100 this week, and is at World No 99 currently, her title-winning turn at UTT, India's franchise league in June alerted her to challenges of the whole wide world, beyond the domestic bragging rights. U Mumba beat Jaipur Patriots 8-4 in the UTT finals, after Ghorpade had helped yank the team, holding her nerve in the semis. But beyond the euphoria was a stack of lessons learnt, some that got drilled down at the Smash (like a Grand Slam). Ghorpade led the World No 6 Japanese 11-10 and 9-8 in the first two games, and lost her advantage from there, before a drubbing in the third. The 20-year-old youngster had delved into what possibly stops Indians from pressing home their advantage and frittering their leads – something that was seen even with Indian No 64 Sreeja Akula at the Olympics. 'Maybe at that moment, the top players take the opportunity and the lesson is to not play it safe at that juncture,' she had said last month. 'They pounce at the chance.' Ahead of flying out for the circuit, the youngster had also noted another takeaway from watching foreign stars turn out at UTT. 'They tend to have good serves which gives them the upperhand,' Ghoroade said. At the Orleans Arena where the Smash was hosted, the Bangalorean youngster frittered her service opportunities twice when leading on the cusp of taking the games. Though she might be the first of Indians to lean onto an attacking style despite playing with a pimple rubber, the power differential often shows up. 'Top players just have a better technique on their power game,' she would say. The maddening schedule in TT where they will play in Americas, Europe, China and other parts of Asia in quick succession means hard-core training blocks are few and far in between. 'We don't get to train a lot, but I do my strength training, lifting weights, twice a week,' she would add. The UTT triumph though was especially satisfying. 'It's very different from the international circuit. You realise how top paddlers prepare, there's shoots and interviews, and contribute to team as against taking all pressure on yourself,' she said. Matches might be shorter, but they demand focus and afford no breathers. 'In UTT pressure is different. You are not supposed to lose concentration even for a second or momentum changes in 3 sets as against five,' Ghorpade added. 4-7 down in her semis against a higher ranked opponent, she had turned the tables, but there was plenty of catching up to do with the top players. 'What I learnt was that foreign players are very quick. But I also got to see their routine and how they keep focus on match days, as well as recovery sessions. I've realized recovery is most important,' she says, hoping to carry forward these learnings when she is in the cauldron of the circuit. The Bangalorean stumbled into TT at age 7 or 8. 'I used to watch TV and be very lazy. Parents decided they had to do something because I was falling sick often too. We had TT coaching at school so it was easily accessible,' Ghorpade recalls. The pimples carry the usual jeopardy though they can offer surprise value up front. 'I use a pimple rubber on the backhand but it's not easy,' she says. 'It's tough to get control and opponent gets used to the momentum. Then you have to mix things up,' she explains, adding her strengths are patience in rallies and general control on the back hand, even if it takes a lot out of her. How does she unwind? 'Bollywood music,' she ends.

Jindal Steel Chhattisgarh Ltd signs MoU with state government for projects worth Rs 75,000 crore
Jindal Steel Chhattisgarh Ltd signs MoU with state government for projects worth Rs 75,000 crore

New Indian Express

time03-07-2025

  • New Indian Express

Jindal Steel Chhattisgarh Ltd signs MoU with state government for projects worth Rs 75,000 crore

RAIPUR: Jindal Steel Chhattisgarh Ltd, a unit of industrial powerhouse JSPL having presence in steel, mining and power, has inked a significant memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Chhattisgarh government for multiple projects. Aimed at driving economic growth, generating employment and fostering sustainable industrial development the agreements were signed for the projects including 500 MW Solar Power Plant, the 2400 MW Thermal Power Plant, and a steel plant with a capacity of 7.5 million tons per annum (MTPA). A proposed investment of Rs 75,000 crore will be allocated for the projects, the company stated. The MoU ceremony was attended by chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai and secretary-industries and commerce Rajat Kumar along with other senior officials.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store