Kolkata Thunderbolts announced their ‘Thunderbolts Cup, Season 2’ in association with Accolade Management Services.

This was commenced in the august presence of Mr. Joy Bhattacharjya, CEO, of Prime Volleyball League (PVL) & Director General, of Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports, Mr. Sushil Poddar, President of Confederation of West Bengal Traders Association, Mr. Arjun Chakraborty, Celebrated Director & Actor, Mr. Premjit Sen, President Karate Association of Bengal, Mr. Joydeep Karmakar, Arjuna Awardee for Shooting, Mr. Dibyendu Barua, Grandmaster Arjuna Awardee for Chess, CA Pawan Kumar Patodia, Chairman & Principal  Owner Kolkata Thunderbolts, Mr. Sumedh Patodia, Team Director & Co-Owner Kolkata Thunderbolts, Md. Fidaul Haque, Managing Director of Accolade Management Services, and other eminent dignitaries from both the sports and cultural spheres.

This unusual sporting occasion strives to encourage community engagement, sportsmanship, and unity among participants while honoring the festive spirit of Durga Puja. The competition aims to include, inform, and amuse Kolkata’s sports-loving populations. The greatest teams from Bengal will battle for the championship title in a celebration of sportsmanship and cultural celebrations, so expect increased excitement and hard competition.

With Kolkata Thunderbolts regularly scouting players for their PVL squad through this competition, Thunderbolts Cup has established a reputation as one of the major talent promotion platforms in volleyball in the nation. Kushal Munshi, a player for the Kolkata Thunderbolts in PVL season 2 last year, was recruited by the Thunderbolts Committee from the Howrah Annapurna, aiding them in their quest to finish first in the league and advance to the semifinals.

Speaking at the event, Arjun Chakraborty said “I grew up in Rajasthan. I grew up playing volleyball. Cricket was not much played by me during my growing-up years. It was later that I started playing it. Initiatives of this kind will help unearth new players and make this game popular in India”.

The cup will be held from 17th to 23rd September 2023. It would be played over 6 days in a league+knockout format at Orchid Arena, Calcutta Boating Club. The event would witness the participation of 64 top Durga Puja Committees with around 640 volleyball players. The 64 teams would be further divided into 16 groups comprising of 4 teams each. Each group’s winner would qualify to play the knockout Round of 16, followed by the Quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finals. The teams would also get a chance to win prizes worth Rs. 3 Lakhs +. The deserving players might get a chance to play for Kolkata Thunderbolts via player scouting.

A great initiative indeed!!

Priyanka Dutta