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India Gazette
04-06-2025
- Sport
- India Gazette
UTT Season 6: PBG Pune Jaguars beat Kolkata ThunderBlades 10-5; Dabang Delhi TTC get revenge over Dempo Goa Challengers in final rematch
Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], June 5 (ANI): PBG Pune Jaguars delivered a clinical, all-round performance to defeat Kolkata ThunderBlades 10-5, while Dabang Delhi TTC held their nerve in a blockbuster rematch of the 2024 final, edging past defending champions Dempo Goa Challengers 9-6 on Thursday. Staged under the aegis of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) and promoted by Niraj Bajaj and Vita Dani, Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) continues to grow as a premier professional league. All 23 ties, over 16 action-packed days, will take place at Ahmedabad's EKA Arena, as per the UTT press release. In a pulsating clash between international heavyweights and UTT stalwarts, Alvaro Robles edged Quadri Aruna to give PBG Pune Jaguars the ideal start, clinching all three games on Golden Points for his first singles win of the season. Remarkably, it marked the first time this rare feat has occurred twice in the same UTT campaign. Dina Meshref then held her nerve in a tight 2-1 win over Adriana Diaz, sealing her maiden league victory before pairing with Anirban Ghosh to secure the mixed doubles 2-1, handing Pune early control of the tie. Kolkata ThunderBlades hit back through young star Ankur Bhattacharjee, who took down Anirban with sharp, crowd-pleasing play in the second men's singles. Crucially, though, Anirban snatched the final game to deny Ankur a full sweep--an important point that kept Pune ahead and denied Kolkata from leveling the tie. Reeth Rishya then closed the door on any hopes of a comeback, sweeping Selena Selvakumar 3-0 to seal the tie. Meshref was awarded the Foreign Player of the Tie, while Diaz claimed the Shot of the Tie. Reeth claimed the Indian Player of the Tie honour. In the day's first match, Harmeet Desai edged Sathiyan Gnanasekaran in a gripping three-game showdown between two of India's finest, but it wasn't enough as Dabang Delhi TTC sealed their second win of the season, this time over reigning champions Dempo Goa Challengers in a rematch of last year's final. Izaac Quek opened with a clinical 3-0 win over Tiago Apolonia for Delhi, while Zeng Jian hit back for Goa by sweeping Diya Chitale. Delhi regained the lead through Sathiyan and Maria Xiao's composed doubles win, but Harmeet's 2-1 victory over Sathiyan levelled things again. In the decider, Xiao rose to the occasion, dominating Sayali Wani 3-0 to clinch the tie. Harmeet was named Indian Player and Shot of the Tie winner, while Xiao claimed Foreign Player of the Tie honours. Earlier, at the Dream UTT Juniors--a joint initiative by UTT and Dream Sports Foundation--U Mumba TT cruised to a 7-2 win over Ahmedabad SG Pipers, with Prateek Tulsani and Ananya Muralidharan starring in both singles and doubles. In a tighter contest, Jaipur Patriots edged Stanley's Chennai Lions 5-4, thanks to a dominant opening by Trishal Surapureddy and a crucial doubles point alongside Shreya Dhar. Final Scores Match 1 Dabang Delhi TTC 9-6 Dempo Goa Challengers Izaac Quek bt. Tiago Apolonia 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-9)Diya Chitale lost to Zeng Jian 0-3 (9-11, 5-11, 6-11)Sathiyan Gnanasekaran/Maria Xiao bt. Harmeet Desai/Zeng Jian 2-1 (8-11, 11-5, 11-8)Sathiyan Gnanasekaran lost to Harmeet Desai 1-2 (11-8, 9-11, 9-11)Maria Xiao bt. Sayali Wani 3-0 (11-3, 11-7, 11-6) Match 2 PBG Pune Jaguars 10-5 Kolkata ThunderBlades Alvaro Robles bt. Quadri Aruna 2-1 (10-11, 11-10, 11-10)Dina Meshref bt. Adriana Diaz 2-1 (11-8, 1-11, 11-10)Anirban Ghosh/Dina Meshref bt. Ankur Bhattacharjee/Adriana Diaz 2-1 (11-9, 11-9, 7-11)Anirban Ghosh lost to Ankur Bhattacharjee 1-2 (8-11, 7-11, 11-8)Reeth Rishya bt. Selena Selvakumar 3-0 (11-9, 11-8, 11-8). (ANI)
The Hindu
01-06-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
Jaguars ride high on Reeth and Anirban's exploits
The Maharashtra derby lived up to its billing and offered the Ultimate Table Tennis Season 6 its first nail-biter as PBG Pune Jaguars — a rebranded team — stunned the fancied U Mumba TT to mark a sensational debut on Sunday. Despite captain Alvaro Robles underperforming in the opening singles tie against an on-song Lilian Bardet, Dena Meshref kept the Jaguars in the hunt by stretching Bernadette Szocs. The Indian duo of Anirban Ghosh and T. Reeth Rishya then punched above their weight in the last two singles outings to spark off celebrations in the Jaguars camp. Anirban's first IndianOil UTT win, right when it mattered most for PBG Pune Jaguars 🔥 📺 Watch IndianOil UTT Season 6 live on JioHotstar and the Star Sports network. 🔗 # — Ultimate Table Tennis (@UltTableTennis) June 1, 2025 Ghosh — despite wasting four match points in the second game — won the decider against Akash Pal to stretch the tie into the deciding match, with the teams locked at six games apiece. Reeth then used all her experience to make it a forgettable UTT debut for Swastika Ghosh by maintaining a clean slate. Reeth's forehand reverse-pendulum serve — with side-spin and top-spin variations — left Swastika flummoxed. Reeth won service points at 9-9 in the first game and on the golden point of the second to seal the tie for the Pune outfit. Golden point clutch by PBG Pune Jaguars to keep the tie alive ✨ 📺 Watch IndianOil UTT Season 6 live on JioHotstar and the Star Sports network. 🔗 — Ultimate Table Tennis (@UltTableTennis) June 1, 2025 Earlier in the evening, U Mumba kept itself afloat with stunning comebacks. Szocs saved three match points in the second game before edging past left-handed Dina in the second game. Akash then started a stunning comeback against Anirban, thanks to a stunning forehand down-the-line block at 6-10 that started a five-point streak. The point of the day was played in the first match. At 8-3 in the second game, Bardet won an 18-shot rally against Robles to start off a series of surprising results. Who needs cardio when you've got rallies like this? 😅 📺 Watch IndianOil UTT Season 6 live on JioHotstar and the Star Sports network. 🔗 — Ultimate Table Tennis (@UltTableTennis) June 1, 2025 The result: U Mumba TT lost to PBG Pune Jaguars 6-9 (Lilian Bardet bt Alvaro Robles 11-1, 11-4, 8-11; Bernadette Szocs bt Dina Meshref 5-11, 11-10, 11-9; Szocs & Akash Pal lost to Dina & Anirban Ghosh 11-7, 7-11, 10-11; Akash lost to Anirban 6-11, 11-10, 8-11; Swastika Ghosh lost to T. Reeth Rishya 9-11, 10-11, 6-11). Monday's fixtures: Stanley's Chennai Lions vs Kolkata ThunderBlades (5 pm); U Mumba TT vs Ahmedabad SG Pipers (7.30 pm).
Hindustan Times
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Anirban Bhattacharya opens up on Hoichoi series Bhog: ‘It was an incredible offer as an actor'
Actor Anirban Bhattacharya gives a chilling turn in the new psychological horror series Bhog, which releases on Hoichoi on May 1. The story, which is an adaptation of a short story written by Avik Sarkar, revolves around a Calcutta-based man who descends into a strange obsession of worshipping an antique deity. His gradual descent into this obsession knows no bounds. Ahead of the release of Bhog, Hindustan Times caught up with the actor for an exclusive chat in Bengali about the show, his approach to the part, and working with Parambrata Chattopadhyay a director for the first time. (Excerpts translated from Bengali) 'When I was told that I was being considered for this particular character, I heard the audio version of the story, the one that was done by Sunday Suspense,' he says when asked about whether he knew the story from before. 'It was done so well. I knew I was being considered for Atin at that time as well. I loved the story. It was so interesting and so well-known by the readers and listeners. Right after this, I headed to the director's place to ask him more. I wanted to know what he wanted out of the story, what he wanted to see through this, and how he was thinking of approaching this particular material. The process started from that standpoint.' In Bhog, Atin's character goes through a transition, where he loses sense of everything around him in his worship of the deity. Anirban is not quite sure he knows how to talk about his approach to the part, and admits, 'That's my job. The transformation that Atin goes through, how that is visible to the camera. I am eager to see how that comes alive on screen when Bhog releases. As an actor, I have given my best to give Atin that arc, now it is up to the viewers to see how it is received.' He goes on to add, 'Atin's life becomes monolithic, all of him is into worshipping this deity. He becomes this blank person when seen from the outside. That was something quite difficult to express as an actor. Param da had very good guidance for me to tackle that, and the writing itself was so inherently strong… which was of great help.' Unlike Atin, Anirban does not have any such obsession when it comes to being an actor. He calmly states how he looks at this idea, 'Atin goes from possession to obsession, and what I believe in as an actor does not matter at all. As an actor, I am always trying to feed into what the character believes in and make it my own. That is my job. I want to equate the emotional memory of Atin in this case, with my own. That is something of an internal process. But what I believe in does not matter here. The character's belief is of utmost importance to me.' Anirban has worked with Parambrata Chattopadhyay as a co-actor before, but this is the first time that he is being directed by him. What is the change? How is Parambrata as a director? Anirban instantly replies, 'Fantastic. Very sorted, extremely disciplined. He is a treat to work with as an actor. He makes the set so comfortable, so when an actor tries to do some sort of improvisation… speaking from my own experience, if I try to see the character a little differently than what he has perceived, he considers that with a lot of time and care. He enables that discussion, acknowledges it and then arrives at a decision. This artistic comfort is so extremely important. There is a certain sense of dignity, in the collaboration between an actor and a director, with the crew and technicians… that is in abundance in Param da's set. It is one of the finest set in our industry.' There is a certain reserve in him when he talks about his process as an actor, but he admits that he always tries to take on parts that surprise him first. Perhaps then, it will surprise the audience too. 'I have always wanted that with my career as an actor. With the parts I have taken on as an actor over the years, like a Bullet Singh in Bibaho Obhijaan, or a Khokha in Dwitiyo Purush, Nikhilesh in Ghawre Bairey Aaj… and so many more, I have always wanted to do different parts with these characters. In that sense, Bhog was an incredible offer as an actor,' he says. What is his process like? Is he able to disconnect after the shoot gets over, or have there been instances when a character took time to let go? Anirban pauses for a while. He then adds, 'It does happen with some parts. The strain becomes physical sometimes. Sometimes it is more of a mental impact. Sometimes it is a sudden sense of grief. But that is okay, and as a professional and work under a lot of constraints. It has become a part of the livelihood now, I feel. That we take on a part, and we are also able to snap out of it. I won't endorse it as a switch-on, switch-off effect, but after a while, one is prepared.' He concludes with a pragmatic, implicit smile, 'I feel that the context here is different. The stories we hear- of Hollywood and European films, and the dry method that the actors use to get into a role and the time that one is allowed to take. We are not working from the same privileged setup. We work as labourers. We know this shot is today when we reach the set in the morning, that these are the 7 scenes… that is how we work!' Bhog premieres on Hoichoi on May 1.
