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She debuted as a Kingfisher Calendar model, became a cricket host, and got a surprise on-field proposal on live TV: Who is Karishma Kotak?

She debuted as a Kingfisher Calendar model, became a cricket host, and got a surprise on-field proposal on live TV: Who is Karishma Kotak?

Economic Times2 days ago
During the World Championship of Legends 2025 final, WCL owner Harshit Tomar unexpectedly proposed to British model and cricket anchor Karishma Kotak live on air, overshadowing South Africa's victory. The proposal instantly went viral. (Image: Instagram/ karishmakotak26)
While the South Africa Champions celebrated their resounding victory over Pakistan Champions in the World Championship of Legends (WCL) 2025 final at Edgbaston, one moment off the pitch stole the thunder from even AB de Villiers' spectacular 120-run knock — a live on-air proposal that no one saw coming.
British model, TV presenter, and cricket anchor Karishma Kotak found herself in the spotlight for reasons beyond her crisp commentary and vibrant hosting style. WCL owner Harshit Tomar, during a post-match interaction, cheekily turned a professional moment into a personal surprise by proposing to Kotak on camera — a gesture that instantly went viral and sent fans into a frenzy.
In the now-circulating clip, Karishma is seen asking Tomar how he plans to celebrate the WCL victory. In a bold and unexpected reply, Tomar says he'd like to marry the anchor, leaving Karishma visibly stunned and speechless. The internet has since been buzzing, dissecting the age difference, speculating about their equation, and joking about the spontaneity of the proposal. A user on social media even commented, 'Relax guys. She is 18 years older than him, probably it is just a compliment to a 43-year-old single aunt with some back story between them. Aunty may be stalking the young lad off the field.' Despite the mixed reactions, the moment has undeniably brought Karishma Kotak back into the limelight. — BollyTellyBuzz (@BollyTellyBuzz)
Born in London, Karishma is no stranger to fame. She began her modelling career at the age of 16 and steadily carved a niche for herself in both the fashion and entertainment industries. Her big break came when she was featured in the 2006 Kingfisher Calendar, a stepping stone that launched many successful careers in the modelling world. Over the years, she's worked with premium brands including Dove, Tanishq, Pond's, Titan, and Wella Hair Colour, among others. Apart from her modelling prowess, Karishma gained nationwide recognition after appearing on Bigg Boss Season 6 and later as a host on Extraaa Innings during IPL 6. In 2016, she ventured into regional cinema with the Punjabi film Kaptaan. In an earlier conversation with ETimes, Kotak reflected on her unconventional entry into sports presenting. 'Mandira [Bedi] truly paved the way, and I have immense respect for what she brought to the space,' she shared. 'I never planned to be a sports presenter, it just sort of found me! But I think when passion meets preparation, the universe aligns.' This 'alignment of the universe' perhaps extended beyond the cricket field at Edgbaston, as fans now speculate about the equation between her and Tomar, whose estimated net worth reportedly crosses ₹15 crore. While she hasn't responded publicly to the proposal beyond her initial stunned reaction, Karishma Kotak continues to win fans not only for her glamorous presence but also for the grace and spontaneity she showed during an unexpected moment in a high-pressure setting.
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Pickleball picks up in Thiruvananthapuram
Pickleball picks up in Thiruvananthapuram

The Hindu

time23 minutes ago

  • The Hindu

Pickleball picks up in Thiruvananthapuram

Ajay Thomas' first encounter with pickleball, a paddle sport played with a perforated plastic ball, happened a little over a year ago in Chennai, during a corporate team outing. Within a few minutes of playing the game, Ajay, an athlete during his early days, could rally with ease. Later, when he moved to Bengaluru, he became further acquainted with the sport while witnessing the growth of communities surrounding the sport. Soon, Ajay started Spinz Pickleball (Instagram handle: @spinz_pickleball), a space exclusively for the sport, with his schoolmates Sharath Varghese, Yadu Manoj and Lawrence Moraira, at Pongumoodu in Thiruvananthapuram, where the sport has been gaining momentum during recent months. Much like Ajay, entrepreneurs are setting up courts exclusively for pickleball across the Kerala capital after being exposed to the sport in Tier 1 cities such as Bengaluru and Chennai, among others. Ventures such as The Happy Court, Sportonix Pickleball, and Zero Fitness Performance Studio have helped forge a following for the sport in the city, initially played on badminton courts due to the similarity in dimensions of the court. Slow start The game has its origins in the US, in the '60s, and is played on a court which is 44 ft long and 20 ft wide. The serves are either underarm serves or drop serves, in which the player drops the ball to the ground and hits it on the bounce to the player diagonally opposite them. 'There are different balls, varying in number of holes, thickness and aerodynamic qualities. The choice of balls is influenced by whether the game is played indoors or outdoors. We use a ball with 40 holes,' says Kishore K, co-founder of The Happy Court (Instagram handle: @thehappycourt), located at Kulathoor. 'When we began the space in January, very few people knew about the sport. Initially, it was just a few players from Trivandrum Tennis Club and a few of my friends. We had to teach them the game without taking any payment for it,' he says. Kishore currently works remotely for a US-based company and is an All India Pickleball Association level 1 certified coach. 'By March-April, we began getting regular customers,' adds Kishore, who founded The Happy Court with his friend Bharath K, a pottery artist currently based out of Goa. Spinz Pickleball, founded in May, hosts daily open plays for people who want to try the sport for the first time, says Ajay. 'If players do not have enough people to book a whole court, they can join these sessions and play together. Players are grouped based on their skill levels,' adds Ajay, who is a corporate employee in Bengaluru. The courts are available on reservation basis or via apps such as PlaySpots, with rates starting from ₹360 and ₹480 per hour for singles and doubles, respectively. 'The paddles are made of wood, carbon fibre, honeycomb material and so on, and cost between ₹1,000 and ₹25,000,' says Ajay. However, most courts provide the paddle for players. Easy transition? 'The transition is much easier for tennis or badminton players, because it is a racquet sport,' says Joseph Charles, owner of Zero Fitness Performance Studio (Instagram handle: @zerofitofficial), located at Kesavadasapuram. A pickleball court was built at the venue seven months ago. Zero Fitness Performance Studio also provides training programmes in yoga, animal flow, MMA boxing, powerlifting, kalaripayattu and so on. 'Pickleball paddles are similar to table tennis paddles, and lawn tennis shots such as top spin, drive and so on are used in the game. However, if you have a tennis background, you tend to hit with a lot of power, which can force the ball out of play considering the smaller court,' says Kishore. 'It has a slightly better court structure than tennis, too. It is not an injury-prone sport like tennis and badminton, and for that, a court is important,' says Ajay, who points out that pickleball courts have seven layers of floor coating while a tennis court has five. Fitness and leisure Joseph, also secretary of Thiruvananthapuram Pickleball Association, points out that pickleball is something you can play as a leisure sport, unlike tennis, paddle tennis and badminton. 'We have people who are into other training programmes at Zero Fitness Performance Studio, play pickleball at our court on the terrace to cool down after a session,' he says. Sunish S Pillai, an employee at Technopark, who has been playing pickleball for the past three months, says, 'It is a good option for a team-building exercise. Currently, everyone playing with me sees it as an opportunity to explore something new and as a stressbuster.' Ajay says, 'Many people see it as an alternate fitness plan. At the same time, it is also a place to bring family members or colleagues together.' Community building The owners emphasise building a city-based community through pickleball. 'We want to create a group of people who are very excited to play the sport,' says Ajay, who prides himself on creating a WhatsApp community of over 200 members for the sport. 'We want to make sure there is a coaching facility possible too,' he adds. Kishore expresses his desire to introduce the Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating for players at the facility. 'There are official levels to this game, which we want to introduce to the players. It would be necessary if someone is travelling to a city like Bengaluru and plans to compete in a tournament.' The sport boasts a large demographic in the city, from six-year-olds to 60-year-olds. It is targeted at those who lead a sedentary lifestyle, says Ajay. Sunish, his wife and their six-year-old son book the court on an hourly basis at The Happy Court and are members of their WhatsApp community. 'My son has limitations holding the paddle, yet he shows great interest. Even my seniors at work, who came to play with us once, started playing pickleball regularly,' adds Sunish, who plays the sport twice a week. Ajay says, 'We are planning women's exclusive matchups too. Since the court is in a residential area, we have a lot of women coming to the facility. Initially, it was just men, then families and now women alone have started coming in.' 'Everyone might not like cycling or running. But pickleball is not something you do alone; it needs group effort. For a sport like this, you must continue playing and fall in love with it,' says Ajay.

Hansika Motwani removes wedding pictures from social media, fans speculate if she is heading towards divorce
Hansika Motwani removes wedding pictures from social media, fans speculate if she is heading towards divorce

Indian Express

time23 minutes ago

  • Indian Express

Hansika Motwani removes wedding pictures from social media, fans speculate if she is heading towards divorce

It looks like there is trouble in paradise, as actor Hansika Motwani deleted all the pictures of her wedding from her Instagram page. Hansika worked as a child actor in the 2003 film Koi Mil Gaya, starring Hrithik Roshan, Preity Zinta, and Rekha. The film ultimately gave birth to the Krrish franchise, and Hansika moved on to booking lead roles in Telugu and Tamil films. Her work in the South include films such as Desamuduru (2007), Kantri (2008) and Maska (2009), Mappillai (2011) and Engeyum Kadhal (2011). She got married to entrepreneur Sohael Khaturiya in 2022, in a destination wedding at the Mundota Fort and Palace near Jaipur. But the marriage seems to have hit some kind of a wall, as the actor recently deleted all the images of her wedding from her Instagram page. The wedding and the couple's entire relationship were very well documented and even presented to the fans in the form of a limited series that streamed on JioHotstar titled Hansika's Love Shaadi Drama. Without any prior context, the actor suddenly took down all the pictures from her wedding and has reportedly also moved to her mother's house. Fans on the internet are wondering about the reasons behind this sudden move and whether this means that Hansika and Sohael's marriage is over. ALSO READ: Shah Rukh Khan's co-star, who started working at 5, says acting doesn't pay: 'You've to do brand deals, endorsements to make money' Many publications and tabloids on the internet have been claiming that the couple had been living separately since July, but no official confirmation has been made by either Hansika or Sohael. In the limited series that told the story about their relationship, fans discovered that Sohael had been previously married to Rinky Bajaj, someone who seemed rather close to Hansika as well. The actor had even attended their wedding and was trolled by a lot of fans for allegedly 'stealing her friend's husband.' In the same series, Hansika addressed these claims and said, 'Just because I knew the person at that time doesn't mean it was my fault. I have nothing to do with this. Because I am a public figure, it was very easy for people to point at me and make me the villain. This was a price I pay for being a celebrity.' Sohael, who is a proprietor at the textile company Avante Texworld, had been inactive on Instagram since 2023 and has now made his profile private. The absence of social media, deleted pictures, and rumours of living separately all point towards the fact that Hansika and Sohael's marriage is definitely going through something, but nothing has been confirmed by either of the parties yet.

Arjun Kapoor Calls Farhan Akhtar's 120 Bahadur Teaser ‘Powerful And Honest'
Arjun Kapoor Calls Farhan Akhtar's 120 Bahadur Teaser ‘Powerful And Honest'

News18

time33 minutes ago

  • News18

Arjun Kapoor Calls Farhan Akhtar's 120 Bahadur Teaser ‘Powerful And Honest'

Taking to social media, Arjun called the teaser "powerful and honest" . The film is releasing in November this year. Farhan Akhtar starrer 120 Bahadur teaser has finally been released. And it has been receiving positive reviews. Arjun Kapoor also shared his excitement for the newly released. Taking to social media, Arjun called the teaser 'powerful and honest," praising its raw portrayal of patriotism. The film is releasing in November this year. Taking to his Instagram stories, Arjun Kapoor shared the teaser and wrote, 'Powerful, honest and Moving. @Farhanakhtar, this one feels special." The makers of 120 Bahadur have now dropped the much-awaited teaser — and it roars with scale, soul, and searing patriotism. Featuring Farhan Akhtar in a fierce avatar as Major Shaitan Singh Bhati (PVC), the first glimpse promises a cinematic war epic rooted in courage and sacrifice. Inspired by the real-life heroism of the Battle of Rezang La (1962), the teaser offers a pulse-pounding look at the bravery of 120 Indian soldiers who stood their ground against thousands. At its heart is the thunderous declaration: 'Hum Peechhe Nahin Hatenge!" — a line that echoes throughout the visuals and sets the emotional core of the film. The makers, taking to their official handle, posted the teaser along with the caption, 'Yeh wardi sirf himmat nahin, balidaan bhi maangti hai! Based on the incredible true story, this is a war forged in snow and sealed with sacrifice. 120 Bahadur teaser out now. Releasing in cinemas near you on 21st Nov, 2025." Marking Farhan Akhtar's powerful return to the big screen, the teaser showcases him in a transformative role — intense, restrained, and deeply stirring. His portrayal of Major Shaitan Singh is already drawing acclaim for its authenticity and quiet command. Shot across Ladakh, Rajasthan, and Mumbai, and mounted on a never-before-seen scale, 120 Bahadur recreates the war front with an unflinching eye. From frozen terrains to battlefield silence, every frame carries weight. Directed by Razneesh 'Razy" Ghai and produced by Ritesh Sidhwani & Farhan Akhtar (Excel Entertainment) and Amit Chandrra (Trigger Happy Studios), 120 Bahadur releases in cinemas on 21st November 2025. Meanwhile, Farhan Akhtar will return to the director's chair with the upcoming film in the Don franchise, starring Ranveer Singh and Kriti Sanon in the lead roles. Earlier, Kiara Advani was supposed to star in the lead role, but the actress stepped away to fulfil her maternal duties. Meanwhile, Arjun Kapoor was last seen in Mere Husband Ki Biwi with Rakul Preet Singh and Bhumi Pednekar. First Published: August 05, 2025, 17:08 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

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