Former national level Table Tennis player. Freelance Writer in Fitness & healthcare. Sports Commentator & Film Critic.
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Mumbai girl Divyanshi Bhowmick has won National TT Champion in the Girls U-17 doubles partnering Naisha Rewaskar at the UTT 86th Inter State Junior and Youth National Table Tennis championship at present going on in Sama, Vadodara. This Gold medal is in additition to Silver medal, which she bagged in the Girls U-17 singles yesterday evening.
Divyanshi who has been in great form during the earlier year, is now all set to participate in her main event of Girls U-15 National Championship, which is scheduled to take place in Indore, from January 30th 2025. Team Magzmumbai wishes her all the best.
A Prolific Writer and Founder – Director of ‘Sportsnasha’ website passed away on Friday 27th December 2024 after prolonged illness. He was 63. He is surived by wife Vasudha and son Pratik. Shirish was also popularly known as ‘Aju’ among his friends, took early retirement from NABARD and focussed his attention on writing.
In the year 2017, Shirish along with Prof. Rajesh Deo, started a website ‘Sportsnasha’, besides hosting sports events for young upcoming sportspersons and helping them. Through ‘Sportsnasha’ he conducted various workshops and seminars on fitness and promotion of sports at different places. He also instituded awards for young talented sportspersons and also felicitated veteran sports personalitities with ‘Khel Seva’ awards. He also organised Women’s Cricket tournaments, Football tournaments in Vile Parle, besides other sports and cultural events .
Shrish Deshpande( R) with Sunil Gavaskar
Being a cricketer himself, Shirish kept the wickets for NABARD Cricket team. Sports personalities like Chandu Borde, Dhanraj Pillay, G.R. Vishwanath, Dilip Vengsarkar, Yajuvendra Singh and others including present women’s test cricketer Jemimah Rodrigues.
Shirish ( R) with actor Pushkar Shrotri
As a writer Shirish had written many books, some of them with the help of his son Pratik. ‘Ajooba’, ‘ Uncle Bole To’., ‘E Mhan’, ‘200 Slogans on Sachin Tendulkar’, ‘Being MSD’, ‘Hope and Bull’s Eye Leadership’,’ Half Cut Half Drive’ are some of his popular publications. . He also contributed his stories to newspapers and Diwali magazines. With his untimely death, sports fraternity has not only lost a good human being but also a great promoter of sports.
Renowned filmmaker Shyam Benegal is no more. He passed away yesterday evening after prolonged illness. He was 90. Mr. Benegal was a reputed Indian film director, screenwriter and documentary filmmaker. Often regarded as the pioneer of parallel cinema, he was widely considered as one of the greatest filmmakers post 1970s. He was recipient of the prestigious Padma Shri award in 1976 and Padma Bhushan in 1991. He had aso received several accolades, including eighteen National Film Awards, a Filmfare Award and a Nandi Award.
Mr. Benegal was conferred with Dadasaheb Phalke award for his overall contribution to Indian Cinema. Some of his best films were ‘Ankur’, ‘Nishant’,’ ‘Junoon’, ‘Mandi’ ‘Manthan’, Bhumika’, Arohan’, Zubeida’ ,‘Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’, & ‘Well Done Abba’. His last film was ‘Mujib- The Making of a Nation’ , which was released in 2023.
Ex- Reserve Bank of India (RBI) General Secretary of All India Sports and Cultural Council, Subhash Bokil is no more. He passed away today morning in Mumbai. He was 76. He was undergoing treatment for cancer at Nanavati Hospital, Mumbai. He is survived by his son and daughter.
Subhash served as General Secretary of RBI Sports Club, Mumbai from 1976 till 1982. In 1982, he was elected as General Secretary of RBI All India Sports and Cultural Council. And he continued on this post successfully till 1994, when he was transferred to Ahmedabad. Later, he took OERS to settle down in Mumbai. Two years ago, he had lost his wife, who also served RBI and was a former TT player.
During his tenure as Secretary of All India RBI Sports & Cultural Council, the first All India RBI Inter Office Sports meet was conducted in Table Tennis and Football. At that time, Dr. Manmohan Singh was Governor of RBI. And, during his tenure as Gen Secretary of RBI Sports Club, Mumbai, Hockey, Football, Kabbadi and Cricket teams performed very well.
The table tennis A team of RBI during his tenure from 1978 to 1982 had won maximum trophies in team events. In one particular year, the Table Tennis team won as many as 9 titles. And Subhash Bokil rewarded the team members suitably. He was very supportive and even allowed non RBI players to play in RBI Sports club premises after 6 pm. This enabled RBI players to get good practice. Subhash was himself a good TT player and played Inter Office League for RBI teams. The Sports Secretaries who later took over from him were really inspired by his dedication towards sports promotion and they formed a policy with the help of management to recruit national level top players in RBI. No wonder, today we see big names like Cricketers Smriti Mandhana, KL Rahul, Umesh Yadav, TT players Srija Akula, Diya Chitale, Ayhika Mukherjee and many others recruited as Officers on sports merit in RBI.
Chinmay Somaiya from The Suburban Table Tennis Association (TSTTA) Mumbai, won the State TT Championship, which concluded in Pune today. In the Men’s Singles final he defeated Deepit Patil from Thane 4-2 to lift this prestigious crown. Another TSSTA player Manushree Patil won a Silver medal in Women’s Singles while young Sharveya Samant from Mumbai suburbs also won Silver medal in Boys’ U-19 category.
Chinmay Somaiya poses with his Men’s Singles Championship trophy
Among the other TSTTA players who won medals were Ananya Chande who bagged Silver in Girls U-19 category, Yuvraj Yadav winning Bronze in Boys U-17, Dhruv Shah winning Bronze in Boys U-19 and Madhurika Patkar & Sampada Bhiwandkar both winning Bronze medals respectively in Women’s Singles category of this championship.
Reacting on the grand success of TSTTA players, Mr. Sameer Bhate, Hon. Secretary of TSTTA said, “ I sincerely appreciate the efforts of all the players and coaches for showcasing their incredible talent.” He also thanked the parents for encouraging their children to embrace one of the finest Sports-Table Tennis.
The Players representing The Suburban Table Tennis Association (TSTTA) at the Maharashtra Inter District and State TT Championship in Pune, bagged three more Gold medals today, taking their medals tally to 7. Young 16 year old Urvi Churi from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai was the player of the day, as she bagged the 5th Gold medal for TSTTA in Girls U-17 category. This is Urvi’s maiden State Championship title, making her Coach from PTKS Noel Pinto and Sachin D’Souza extremely happy. Urvi also helped her Girls U-17 team along with Vaishnavi, Niva, Ayaana to bag Silver medal.
TSTTA Boys and Girls playing the team events in U-19 age group, also proved their superiority; winning their respective team events and bringing 2 more Gold medals and trophies to TSTTA. The Men’s team of TSTTA won a Bronze medal, while the Women’s team won Silver medal . So, it was a good day for TSTTA players today .
TSTTA Girls U-17 Silver medalists (L to R) Ayaana Beddingwala,Vaishnavi Jaiswal, Team Coach Sachin D’Souza, Niva Chaugule & Star Performer Urvi Churi.
In the Boys U-17 individual event, TSTTA secured one Silver through Arnav Kshirsagar and 2 bronze medals through Akanksh Sahoo and Yuvraj Yadav . Individual Singles matches in Girls and Boys U-19, Men and Women were in progress, when reports last came in.
Favourite Divyanshi Bhowmick, Myraa Sangelkar and Param Bhiwandkar representing The Suburban Table Tennis Association( TSTTA) Mumbai at the Maharashtra State Championship in Pune; put up a grand show, winning the Gold medals in Girls U-15, Girls U-13 and Boys –U-13 events respectively.
TSTTA Boys and Girls in U-11, U-13 and U-15 age groups, proudly pose with their medals , trophies and certificates after the Prize distribution ceremony in Pune.
Myraa Sangelkar also helped her TSTTA Girls U-15 team to bag a Bronze medal; while TSTTA Boys in U-15 team bagged Silver medal. Overall performance of TSTTA Boys and Girls in individual Singles and doubles in Under 15 age groups was impressive. While Vedika Jaiswal bagged Bronze medal in Girls U-11 event, Ayaana Beddingwala also secured a Bronze in Girls U-15 event. Two more Bronze medals came from Ahan Gosar and Zain Shaikh in the Boys Singles U-13 event.
Fourth Gold medal for TSTTA came from doubles pair of Zihan Beddingwala and Zain Shaikh, who won the Boys Under-15 doubles event. In the same event, another TSTTA pair comprising of Sparsh Agarwal and Ragav Mahajan won Bronze medal in this doubles event.
TSTTA’s Niva Chaugule bagged a Silver medal in Girls U-15 doubles partnering Saee Kulkarni from Pune; while Ritanya Deolekar also bagged Bronze in the same event. More medals are expected for TSTTA in Above 15 age groups, as the matches are in progress in Pune.
Amit Riyaan, an Engineering graduate in Polymer technology from Akola, Maharashtra; came to Mumbai to do his Masters in Mass Communication. But, after completing that, his growing interest in theatre, turned him as an actor in experimental plays of reputed directors. Watching his talent, he soon got recognition from some reputed film and web series makers . Amit has already won Late Dadasaheb Phalke Jury award for his performance in Marathi film ‘Manya- The Wonder Boy’. His roles in multi-starrer Marathi film ‘Rajwade & Sons’ and ‘Boyz-2’ were also well accepted.
After having worked in many web series, short films and web films like ‘Satya-2’, ‘Atkan Chatkan’, ‘Tandoor’ Amit is now playing lead role in forthcoming Suspense thriller film ‘The Rabbit House’ directed by Vaibhav Kulkarni. According to the director, this film is set against the scenic backdrop of Himachal Pradesh. The film intricately weaves together elements of mystery and romance. The narrative skillfully navigates the complexities of relationships, mental health, and societal expectations. The film’s title, “The Rabbit House,” carries a symbolic weight, suggesting that the protagonist’s quest for freedom might mirror the elusive nature of a rabbit’s burrow.
The tagline of this film’s title also says, ‘Raaz bhi…Humraaz Bhi..’ . Moreover, the teaser of this film has also raised a lot of curiosity about this film, which is set for release in theatres on 20th December 2024. But, all eyes on Amit Riyaan, who has a big fan following; and his best performance in this film along with other talented artistes is eagerly awaited.
Divyanshi Bhowmick from TSTTA Mumbai, Maharashtra is playing the best Table Tennis of her life. This 13 year old girl is a bright prospect for India has been winning medals and trophies one after the other, at the state, national and international level tournaments this year.
On 19th November 2024, Divyanshi clinched her third consecutive National Title in the under 15 girls category at Punchkula. This is no ordinary feat. She made this day special for herself, her family and her coach Mr. Anshuman Roy of Skies Table Tennis Academy as Divyanshi was celebrating her 14th birthday.
In the U-15 Girls final, Divyanshi Bhowmick faced a tough challenge from left-handed Riana Bhoota also of Maharashtra. After an extended battle, Riana forced a decider, but Divyanshi’s attacking play sealed the win 3-2.
Divyanshi will now be travelling to Sweden to participate in the ITTF Youth World Championship.
We hope the celebrations are extended by her and team India.
TSTTA officials and team magzmumbai wish her all the best.
Myraa Sangelkar from Vissanji Academy and Pratik Tulsiani from C P Goenka International School, Thane won the National Ranking TT titles at Panchkula recently. Prateek displayed his superiority in the Boys U-13 finals, when he defeated Rishaan Chattopadhayay of West Bengal 3-0; while Myraa had to fight very hard to overcome the resistance from Shariqa Shahid of West Bengal before winning 3-2 in the finals of Girls U-13.
Myraa Sangelkar
Both Pratik and Myraa are trained at Pro-TT Academy by renowned TT Coach Rajendra Sawant and Nilesh Pandirkar. It may be recalled that both Pratik and Myraa have performed extremely well in the local , state and national level TT tournaments this year and there is bright future for both these players.
Pratik Tulsiani
Another fine performance came from Little Jinaya Vadhan from Singhania School Thane. Jinaya is also trained by Rajendra and Nilesh at Pro TT Academy. Jinaya has bagged a Bronze medal in this National level tournament in Girls U-11 category. On her way to semi finals, Jinaya had defeated top seed Divja Paul in pre-quarter finals.
