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Delhi set for a smashing rally as Pickleball Now Grand Prix hits Gurugram

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MUMBAI: Delhi’s sporting scene is about to get a spicy spin because the pickleball ‘pickle’ is officially popping off. Times Network is bringing the Pickleball Now Grand Prix – North Edition to The Blue Court, Sector 65, Gurugram, on 22 November, marking the next big serve in its multi-city initiative to popularise what has become one of India’s fastest-growing recreational sports.

And the capital is turning up in numbers. Over 200 players will battle it out across the daylong event, eyeing Rs 10 Lakh in prizes, trophies, media visibility and ranking prestige. All matches are affiliated with the Pickleball World Rankings (PWR), ensuring that every point scored counts for official rankings.

The Grand Prix features five categories designed to engage both intermediate and advanced players:

●  Men’s Doubles – Advanced

●  Men’s Doubles – Intermediate

●  Mixed Doubles – Advanced

●  Mixed Doubles – Intermediate

●  Women’s Doubles, featuring randomly paired teammates for delightful unpredictability

The mix of competition levels paired with the sport’s quick-play energy ensures a day of tight rallies, clutch points and plenty of courtside drama.

Pickleball’s soaring popularity has drawn a premium roster of partner brands across lifestyle, tech, mobility and consumer categories. Among them:

●  Presented By: Hell Energy Drink

●  NBFC Partner: Aditya Birla Capital

●  Official Timekeeping Partner: Just in Time

●  Banking Partner: HDFC Bank

●  Luxury Real Estate Partner: Arihant

●  Celebration Partner: Radico Khaitan

●  Equipment Partner: Joola

●  Healthcare Partner: Dava India

●  Education Partner: Amrita University

●  Wealth Partner: Yes Securities

The mix underscores how pickleball has evolved from a recreational pastime to a premium, brand-magnet sport.

Beyond intense rallies and leaderboard climbs, the Pickleball Now Grand Prix weaves in a lifestyle showcase, high-energy brand experiences and a vibrant community vibe. It’s a sporting spectacle that mirrors the country’s growing appetite for accessible, fast-paced, aspirational sports.

With Delhi as the next stop, the Grand Prix promises to amplify the momentum adding visibility, structure and star power to a sport that’s quietly become India’s coolest weekend addiction.

For all updates, head to Pickleball Now because the North Edition is about to serve Delhi its most electrifying pickleball moment yet.

 

Brands

Delhivery chairman Deepak Kapoor, independent director Saugata Gupta quit board

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Gurugram: Delhivery’s boardroom is being reset. Deepak Kapoor, chairman and independent director, has resigned with effect from April 1 as part of a planned board reconstitution, the logistics company said in an exchange filing. Saugata Gupta, managing director and chief executive of FMCG major Marico and an independent director on Delhivery’s board, has also stepped down.

Kapoor exits after an eight-year stint that included steering the company through its 2022 stock-market debut, a period that saw Delhivery transform from a venture-backed upstart into one of India’s most visible logistics platforms. Gupta, who joined the board in 2021, departs alongside him, marking a simultaneous clearing of two senior independent seats.

“Deepak and Saugata have been instrumental in our process of recognising the need for and enabling the reconstitution of the board of directors in line with our ambitious next phase of growth,” said Sahil Barua, managing director and chief executive, Delhivery. The statement frames the exits less as departures and more as deliberate succession, a boardroom shuffle timed to the company’s evolving scale and strategy.

The resignations arrive amid broader governance recalibration. In 2025, Delhivery appointed Emcure Pharmaceuticals whole-time director Namita Thapar, PB Fintech founder and chairman Yashish Dahiya, and IIM Bangalore faculty member Padmini Srinivasan as independent directors, signalling a tilt towards consumer, fintech and academic expertise at the board level.

Kapoor’s tenure spanned Delhivery’s most defining years, rapid network expansion, public listing and the push towards profitability in a bruising logistics market. Gupta’s presence brought FMCG and brand-scale perspective during a period when ecommerce volumes and last-mile delivery economics were being rewritten.

The twin exits, effective from the new financial year, underscore a familiar corporate rhythm: founders consolidate, veterans rotate out, and fresh voices are ushered in to script the next chapter. In India’s hyper-competitive logistics race, even the boardroom does not stand still.

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MAM

Meta appoints Anuvrat Rao as APAC head of commerce partnerships

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SINGAPORE: Anuvrat Rao has taken charge as APAC  head of commerce and signals partnerships at Meta, steering monetisation deals across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp from Singapore. The former Google executive, known for launching Google Assistant, PWAs, AMP and Firebase across Asia-Pacific, steps into the role after a high-growth stint as chief business officer at Locofy.ai.

At Locofy.ai, Rao helped convert a three-year free beta into a paid engine, clocking 1,000 subscribers and 15 enterprise clients within ten days of launch in September 2024. The low-code startup, backed by Accel and top tech founders, is famed for turning designs into production-ready code using proprietary large design models.

Before that, Rao founded generative AI venture 1Bstories, which was acquired by creative AI platform Laetro in mid-2024, where he briefly served as managing director for APAC. Alongside operating roles, he has been an active investor and advisor since 2020, backing startups such as BotMD, Muxy, Creator plus, Intellect, Sealed and CricFlex through a creator-economy-led thesis.

Rao spent over eight years at Google, holding senior partnership roles across search, assistant, chrome, web and YouTube in APAC, and earlier cut his teeth in strategy consulting at OC&C in London and investment finance at W. P. Carey in Europe and the US.

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Brnd.me enters Europe as haircare brands power global expansion

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Bengaluru:  Brnd.me, the global consumer brands company formerly known as Mensa Brands, has entered the European market following strong momentum across the Middle East, the United States and Canada.

The company has launched across the UK, Germany, France and Spain, with plans to expand into Italy, the Netherlands and Poland over the next year. The push is being led by its haircare and aromatherapy brands, Botanic Hearth and Majestic Pure, marking Brnd.me’s first structured expansion into Europe.

The European beauty market represents a total addressable opportunity of over $4 billion across haircare and aromatherapy, supported by high digital adoption and demand for accessible, performance-led products.

Brnd.me’s hair care and aromatherapy business currently operates at an annual run rate of around $6 million, with Botanic Hearth and Majestic Pure delivering roughly 10 per cent month-on-month growth, driven by expansion and rising repeat demand.

To support regional growth, the company has appointed a general manager based in Germany and is evaluating investments in warehousing and local team expansion.

Early traction has been strong. Within weeks of launch, Botanic Hearth’s rosemary hair oil ranked among the top five hair oils in Germany, signalling strong consumer pull in a competitive market.

Brnd.me founder and chief executive officer Ananth Narayanan, said Europe represents the next phase of the company’s international strategy. He added that the European business is expected to scale to a $10 million annual run rate by the end of 2026, with long-term ambitions to reach $60 million over the next six years.

The company’s Europe strategy centres on digital-first distribution, repeat demand and TikTok-led discovery, alongside direct-to-consumer expansion to strengthen brand equity and margins.

The move also aligns with growing EU–India trade engagement, supporting long-term sourcing and cross-border supply chains.

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