Latest news with #Sreeja
The Hindu
5 days ago
- Sport
- The Hindu
Sreeja stuns Szocs to set up Patriots' win against U Mumbai
In a unique team championship format like Ultimate Table Tennis where individuals compete for franchise glory, often does it seem that the most high-profile clash proves to be a decisive affair in the eventual outcome of a tie. The same was on display on Thursday at the EKA Arena as Sreeja Akula's upset over favourite Bernadette Szocs was instrumental in Jaipur Patriots edging past U Mumba TT to register its second consecutive win in Season 6. Riding on Sreeja's stunning win against Szocs, the Romanian who is ranked No. 12 in the women's singles World rankings, Patriots sealed the narrow 8-7 win with Britt Eerland, the seasoned Dutch, winning the first two games before falling in the long-pimpled trap of Yashaswini Ghorpade in the last game. The marquee clash, however, turned out to be the one between the highest-ranked Indian in UTT at 35 and Szocs, the highest-ranked player in UTT. With Sreeja having surrendered in straight games in their only meeting on the world circuit earlier this year, Sreeja had her task cut out. She set the tone by clinching the opening game before Szocs displayed her class by passing Sreeja through her forehand corner frequently. Sreeja opened up an early lead and at 4-2, played two outstanding points that kind of surprised Szocs. The first one was clinched with a crosscourt forehand top-spin from the backhand corner that Szocs had no answer to. The next point saw a fierce rally that Sreeja managed to close out with a powerful forehand winner. Sreeja's win also spurred Jeet Chandra on as he surprised Akash Pal in an all-Indian men's singles tie to level the scores heading into the decider. Eerland then sealed the deal before Ghorpade earned the crucial last point to keep U Mumba in the hunt for the semifinals. The results: Jaipur Patriots bt U Mumba TT 8-7 (Kanak Jha bt Lilian Bardet 11-6, 7-11, 11-9; Sreeja Akula bt Bernadette Szocs 11-9, 8-11, 11-5; Sreeja & Jha lost to Szocs & Akash Pal 8-11, 6-11, 6-11; Jeet Chandra bt Akash Pal 5-11, 11-10, 11-7; Britt Eerland bt Yashaswini Ghorpade 11-7, 11-4, 7-11). Ahmedabad SG Pipers bt Stanley's Chennai Lions 8-7 (Ricardo Walther 11-4, 11-9, 11-5; Ayhika Mukherjee bt Poymantee Baisya 11-9, 7-11, 11-10; Mukherjee & Walther bt Baisya & Baisya & Kirill Gerassimenko 11-2, 11-6, 7-11; SFR Snehit lost to Kirill Gerassimenko 7-11, 11-3, 7-11; Fan Siqi bt Giorgio Piccolin (11-9, 11-4, 11-2) Friday's matches: PBG Pune Jaguars vs Dempo Goa Challengers (5 pm); Dabang Delhi TTC vs Kolkata ThunderBlades 7.30 p.m.
India Gazette
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- India Gazette
UTT Season 6: Sreeja, Kanak shine as Jaipur Patriots grab first win despite Stanley's Chennai Lions' spirited comeback
Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], June 3 (ANI): Clean sweeps by Kanak Jha and Sreeja Akula set Jaipur Patriots en route to a 9-6 win in the Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) Season 6 on Tuesday, despite a late, spirited fightback from Stanley's Chennai Lions. USA's top-ranked male paddler, Jha, became the first player in league history to win a match with three Golden Points in his 3-0 triumph over Kirill Gerassimenko. Subsequently, India's top-ranked female paddler, Sreeja, followed with a clinical 3-0 win over Nationals' gold medalist Poymantee Baisya as Jaipur raced to a 6-0 lead. Staged under the aegis of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) and promoted by Niraj Bajaj and Vita Dani, 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. Having won their opening battles, Jha and Sreeja then paired up to stretch Jaipur's winning start to eight games, sealing their first tie win of the campaign with a commanding 2-1 win in mixed doubles over Payas Jain and Fan Siqi. But Chennai showed late resolve. Payas responded with a 3-0 win over Yashansh Malik in a clash of Delhi talents, while Fan, the league's highest-valued player, added two more games in her 2-1 win against Britt Eerland. Though the result was sealed, the Lions clawed back six valuable games, potentially crucial when table standings tighten at the business end of the league. Sreeja took home the dual honours of the Indian Player and Shot of the Tie for her displays, while Jha picked up the Foreign Player of the Tie award. Earlier, at the Dream UTT Juniors--a joint initiative by UTT and Dream Sports Foundation--Kolkata ThunderBlades and Dempo Goa Challengers cruised to identical 7-2 wins over Dabang Delhi TTC and PBG Pune Jaguars, respectively. Ritvik Gupta and Swara Karmakar led the charge for Kolkata, each securing singles victories while combining for a dominant doubles win. For Goa, Sahil Rawat and Aarya Redkar delivered in style, winning all three match-ups against PBG Pune Challengers. (ANI)
The Hindu
02-06-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
Programme on drug abuse and suicide tendencies in youngsters
Oleevia Foundation here conducted a programme aimed at flagging drug abuse and suicide tendencies among youngsters in Malampuzha block. The programme titled Jeevan Disha concluded on Saturday. The foundation reached out to youngsters, particularly adolescents, with the support of anganwadis of Kuzhiyakkad, Kallepully, Chembalode, Poolakkad, Kallamkulam and Irattayal. The programme addressed the youngsters by focusing on communication, leadership, decision making, stress management and time management. Oleevia chief project manager Gautam Ramakrishnan and project coordinator Sreeja led the programme.
New Indian Express
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New Indian Express
Art beyond canvas
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I — I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. These final lines of the poem The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost could easily describe the journey of Sreeja Kalappurakkal, a self-taught artist from Thrissur. While most artists stick to traditional canvases, Sreeja sees art in the everyday. Over the years, she's painted on feathers, stones, and even seashells. But recently, she chose an even harder surface to create art, something most people throw away without a second thought — coconut shells. In her new exhibition titled 'Shararanthal' at David Hall Art Gallery, Sreeja brings life into these discarded coconut shells. Using acrylic paints, she carefully polishes and transforms each one into a memory capsule of nostalgic scenes of the state. Including the canvas paintings, around 500 artworks were on display at the exhibition, which was held from April 9 to 17. 'I tried to paint the warm memories of the past and everyday scenes from Kerala — between the 1960s and 1990s — on the inside of the coconut shells. From a child being born and rocked in the cradle to growing up and engaging in various activities, everything that directly and indirectly shapes our lives is portrayed in my paintings. The toys, the pond, the river, the fields, the tea shops, the fishermen, the rain, cartoon characters from old children's publications, school days, college, love — I have covered almost every minute memory through this,' says Sreeja. In addition to this, there are artworks displayed on plywood, where coconut shells have been cracked, ground into powder using a machine, and spread on the surface with glue. One such work, standing at five feet, depicts India and another, also five and a half feet tall, depicts Kerala. The distinct features of each state, along with indigenous and tribal art forms, are marked through the artwork. Besides that, handcrafted items using coconut shells and art pieces created on canvas using different materials obtained from the coconut tree were also part of the exhibition. 'There are so many hidden canvases around us in nature — things we see daily without noticing their potential. All my works begin with the thought of bringing different themes to life using such materials. After working with stones and feathers, I realised that people had started expecting something different from me. That's when I moved on to seashells, and now, coconut shells,' Sreeja says. It's not an easy process at all. According to her, this isn't like picking up a canvas from a shop and painting on it. From collecting the raw material to preparing the surface so it's fit for painting, every step takes time. Developing the method to work with coconut shells alone took her nearly four years. 'It takes a lot of effort, too. I even developed conditions like tennis elbow from the physical strain. But despite all that, art is still something that brings me real joy,' she smiles. The 44-year-old is currently teaching painting online. Since her first exhibition in 2014, she has held 16 solo exhibitions across Kerala. Her work has earned 23 national and international recognitions, including listings in the Limca Book of Records, Best of India Records, India Book of Records, and Asia Book of Records. 'Art was always a part of me,' says Sreeja. From school days, she had this urge to create. However, because of circumstances, she couldn't pursue it properly or study it formally. 'Later, when I became financially independent and had more time to experiment, I dusted off that old dream. That's how I started painting,' she explains. She began with oil painting. 'And when I first exhibited my work, many people criticised it, not knowing that I had never studied art professionally.' Later, many approached her with advice — to travel more, to read. She took all of it to heart, improved and kept going. 'But again, the hurdle is financial,' she adds. 'Conducting exhibitions is expensive, and right now, I'm stuck because of that. If I can get more support, maybe I will be able to share my art with more people,' she concludes.
