BUZZ. BELIEF. PERFORMANCE. DESI WARRIORZ INTO THE SEMIS!
YANA League’s Most Popular Team Desi WarriorZ Storms Into Semi-Finals, Eyes Historic Championship

Mumbai, October 4: Desi WarriorZ, one of the most popular and talked-about teams of the YANA Table Tennis League, has stormed into the semi-finals, turning the tremendous buzz around the team into a powerful run on the table.

From making waves at the auction to emerging as one of the league’s biggest crowd-pullers, Desi WarriorZ has carried a distinct energy throughout the tournament. With a place in the final four, the team now finds itself within touching distance of the championship.

Owned by Rajveer Singh, with Anjuri Sinha as Partner, Desi WarriorZ has an unusual story behind its success. Neither comes from a table-tennis playing background, yet together they built a competitive squad and created a franchise identity that became hugely popular even before the first ball was played.

The credit on the table, however, belongs to the Desi WarriorZ players, who have delivered under pressure and carried the team into the semi-finals.

Founded by Krishna Kotian, the YANA Table Tennis League brings the sporting community together while supporting the important cause of Breast Cancer Awareness.

For Desi WarriorZ, what started at the auction table has now reached the final four.

The popularity created the buzz. The players delivered the performance. And now, Desi WarriorZ are in the semi-finals.

From Auction to the Final Four — Desi WarriorZ Are Coming for the Crown. 

YANA Table Tennis League Returns as India's Fastest Growing TT League


YANA SPORTS PRESENTS YANA TABLE TENNIS LEAGUE 2026 – BREAST CANCER AWARENESS EDITION12 TEAMS, 96 PLAYERS, 1 MISSION – SMASH FOR CHANGE
3rd & 4th October, Khar Gymkhana, Mumbai
Mumbai, 6th September 2026 – Just 8 months after its landmark debut, YANA League by YANA Sports is back – bigger, mixed-gender and more purposeful. YANA Sports today unveiled the poster for YANA Table Tennis League 2026 – Breast Cancer Awareness Edition to be held on 3rd & 4th October at Khar Gymkhana, Mumbai. 
From Women’s Day Debut to India’s Fastest Growing TT League
YANA Sports, founded by seasoned marketing leader, producer and entrepreneur Krishna Kotian, was launched as a women-centric sports platform built around empowerment and mental wellness, with its flagship initiative debuting on 8th March 2026, aligning with the spirit of Women’s Day. 
YANA stands for “You Are Not Alone.” More than a name, it is a philosophy – addressing stress, societal pressure and the need for structured community support through sport. 
What started as India’s first Women’s Table Tennis League in March 2026 has in 8 months become THE FASTEST GROWING TABLE TENNIS LEAGUE IN INDIA that now turns mixed-gender for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. 
Growth & Impact:
1. Sport as an Outlet: At the heart of the initiative is table tennis — a sport that is fast, strategic, and inclusive, accessible across age groups and skill levels, improving focus and mental clarity. 
2. From Participation to Movement: The inaugural edition welcomed corporate professionals, entrepreneurs, students, creatives and homemakers, creating a space where competition meets compassion. The second edition scales this to 12 franchise teams and 96 players.
3. Same Sport, Bigger Purpose: This edition dedicates itself to Breast Cancer Awareness – using sport to drive conversations around early screening, support survivors and celebrate strength.
Final 12 Teams for 2026:
1. Global Squad
2. Chambal Gharials 
3. Mahana Ventures
4. Maratha Warriors
5. Essen Vision Defenders
6. Delhi Dhakad
7. LV Spartans - London
8. Urjja Strikers
9. Century Warriors
10. Desi Warriorz
11. Teamo Productions Pvt. Ltd.
12. High Fly Freight Services
Partners: BIG FM (Radio Partner), Hathway & DEN (Telecast Partner), Global Advertisers Pvt. Ltd. (Outdoor Partner), Khar Gymkhana – KG (Venue Partner).
“We started YANA to prove that sport can heal as much as it can compete. From 8 teams in March to 12 teams now, the growth shows Mumbai needed this. This October, every smash will be for change,” said Krishna Kotian, Founder, YANA Sports.
For Media, Sponsorship & Player Entries:
YANA Sports | | Khar Gymkhana, Mumbai
 

From Batamaloo to the Podium: The Icestock Journey of Faheem Masood Shah
There are athletes who chase medals, and there are athletes who build a movement. In Jammu & Kashmir, Faheem Masood Shah has quietly become both.
Faheem's latest outing came at the Himadari Ice Rink in Dehradun, an international-standard facility that hosted a national IcestockSport tournament featuring squads from Karnataka, Maharashtra, Chandigarh, Gujarat, Goa, Uttarakhand, Delhi and other states. Leading Jammu & Kashmir as captain, Faheem returned home with two gold medals, two silver medals and a bronze — a result that surprised no one who has followed his decade-long career on the ice.
Born in 1992 in Batamaloo, Srinagar, Faheem's introduction to competitive sport had nothing to do with ice. Football, cricket, rugby and athletics filled his childhood, sharpening the reflexes and competitive instinct that would later define his icestock game. It was during a snow rugby event in Gulmarg in 2014 that he first picked up an icestock — handed to him, almost by chance, by Manfred Schafer, then head of the International Federation of IcestockSport. His first throw hit the target. He has barely stopped since.
What followed was over a decade of steady, often unglamorous graft: training on poorly maintained ice, competing with borrowed gear, and traveling to international meets on shoestring budgets, all in a country where winter sports infrastructure remains thin, and in a region where it is thinner still.
The results, however, tell their own story. Faheem has represented India in more than 200 international matches and picked up medals across three continents. A career highlight came at the 2025 World Icestock Championship in Kapfenberg & Stanz, Austria, where he helped India to a team bronze medal and a fourth-place finish in Team Long Distance, lifting India to a Top-7 world ranking in the Team Game category — one of the strongest results posted by an Indian side at that level.
Away from the rink, Faheem has built an equally serious second career. He holds a degree in Computer Engineering and a master's degree in Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, has worked as a programmer and certified UX designer, and is an independent researcher with contributions to published research. Few of his rivals on the ice, in India or abroad, carry a resume quite like it.
Yet those who know him say it is his work off the rink that matters most to him. Through the Vaadi E Kashmir Foundation, Faheem is involved in youth development, digital literacy and community sports programmes across the Valley, and is a familiar sight coaching children on makeshift rinks after his own competitions wrap up. Kids in Gulmarg and Srinagar follow his results closely; for many, he has become proof that a path exists — even from a region with little winter sports tradition and even less support.
"We're not that far behind," Faheem has said of India's standing in the sport. "We just need people to believe in us."
With the Dehradun tournament now added to an already long list of national titles, Faheem's ambitions have not slowed. The European Championships are next on his calendar, with Olympic qualification the ultimate target — a goal he has framed not as a personal milestone, but as a message to "every kid who thinks they can't make it because they're from Kashmir."



Career Tournament Record
   Year
 Event
 Level
 Location
 Result
    2014
 1st National Ice Stock Sport Championship
 National
 Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir, India
 Gold, Gold
   2015
 2nd National Ice Stock Sport Championship
 National
 Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir, India
 Gold, Silver
   2016
 3rd National Ice Stock Sport Championship
 National
 Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir, India
 Gold, Silver, Silver
   2017
 4th National Ice Stock Sport Championship
 National
 Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir, India
 Gold, Gold, Silver
   2018
 5th National Ice Stock Sport Championship
 National
 Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir, India
 Gold, Silver
   2018
 12th Ice Stock Sport World Cup
 World Championship
 Austria
 10th Place
   2019
 6th National Ice Stock Sport Championship
 National
 Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir, India
 Gold, Gold, Silver, Silver, Bronze
   2019
 International Ice Stock Sport Cup
 International
 China
 5th Place
   2020
 13th Ice Stock Sport World Championship
 World Championship
 Regen, Bavaria, Germany
 7th Place
   2021
 7th National Ice Stock Sport Championship
 National
 Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir, India
 Gold, Silver
   2021
 Summer National Ice Stock Sport Championship
 National
 SKISC, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, India
 Gold, Gold, Gold, Silver
   2022
 8th National Ice Stock Sport Championship
 National
 Jammu & Kashmir, India
 Gold, Silver
   2022
 14th Ice Stock Sport World Championship
 World Championship
 Ritten, Italy
 7th Place
   2023
 9th National Ice Stock Sport Championship
 National
 Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir, India
 Gold, Gold, Gold, Silver, Bronze, Bronze
   2023
 3rd Khelo India National Winter Games
 —
 Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir, India
 Gold, Silver, Silver, Bronze
   2023
 2nd Summer National Ice Stock Sport Championship
 National
 Pune, Maharashtra, India
 Gold, Gold, Gold, Silver, Silver, Bronze, Bronze
   2024
 10th National Ice Stock Sport Championship
 National
 Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir, India
 Gold, Gold, Gold, Silver, Silver
   2024
 3rd National Ice Stock Sport Summer Championship
 National
 Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, India
 Silver, Silver
   2025
 11th National Ice Stock Sport Championship
 National
 Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir, India
 Gold, Gold, Silver, Silver, Bronze
   2025
 15th Ice Stock Sport World Championship
 World Championship
 Kapfenberg & Stanz, Austria
 Bronze
   2025
 National Summer Ice Stock Sport Tournament
 National
 Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India
 Gold, Silver
   2026
 12th National Ice Stock Sport Championship
 National
 Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir, India
 Gold, Gold, Silver, Silver
   2026
 National Ice Stock Sport Tournament
 National
 Himadari Ice Rink, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India
 Gold, Gold, Silver, Silver, Bronze
  

BUZZ. BELIEF. PERFORMANCE. DESI WARRIORZ INTO THE SEMIS!
YANA League’s Most Popular Team Desi WarriorZ Storms Into Semi-Finals, Eyes Historic Championship

Mumbai, October 4: Desi WarriorZ, one of the most popular and talked-about teams of the YANA Table Tennis League, has stormed into the semi-finals, turning the tremendous buzz around the team into a powerful run on the table.

From making waves at the auction to emerging as one of the league’s biggest crowd-pullers, Desi WarriorZ has carried a distinct energy throughout the tournament. With a place in the final four, the team now finds itself within touching distance of the championship.

Owned by Rajveer Singh, with Anjuri Sinha as Partner, Desi WarriorZ has an unusual story behind its success. Neither comes from a table-tennis playing background, yet together they built a competitive squad and created a franchise identity that became hugely popular even before the first ball was played.

The credit on the table, however, belongs to the Desi WarriorZ players, who have delivered under pressure and carried the team into the semi-finals.

Founded by Krishna Kotian, the YANA Table Tennis League brings the sporting community together while supporting the important cause of Breast Cancer Awareness.

For Desi WarriorZ, what started at the auction table has now reached the final four.

The popularity created the buzz. The players delivered the performance. And now, Desi WarriorZ are in the semi-finals.

From Auction to the Final Four — Desi WarriorZ Are Coming for the Crown. 

YANA Table Tennis League Returns as India's Fastest Growing TT League


YANA SPORTS PRESENTS YANA TABLE TENNIS LEAGUE 2026 – BREAST CANCER AWARENESS EDITION12 TEAMS, 96 PLAYERS, 1 MISSION – SMASH FOR CHANGE
3rd & 4th October, Khar Gymkhana, Mumbai
Mumbai, 6th September 2026 – Just 8 months after its landmark debut, YANA League by YANA Sports is back – bigger, mixed-gender and more purposeful. YANA Sports today unveiled the poster for YANA Table Tennis League 2026 – Breast Cancer Awareness Edition to be held on 3rd & 4th October at Khar Gymkhana, Mumbai. 
From Women’s Day Debut to India’s Fastest Growing TT League
YANA Sports, founded by seasoned marketing leader, producer and entrepreneur Krishna Kotian, was launched as a women-centric sports platform built around empowerment and mental wellness, with its flagship initiative debuting on 8th March 2026, aligning with the spirit of Women’s Day. 
YANA stands for “You Are Not Alone.” More than a name, it is a philosophy – addressing stress, societal pressure and the need for structured community support through sport. 
What started as India’s first Women’s Table Tennis League in March 2026 has in 8 months become THE FASTEST GROWING TABLE TENNIS LEAGUE IN INDIA that now turns mixed-gender for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. 
Growth & Impact:
1. Sport as an Outlet: At the heart of the initiative is table tennis — a sport that is fast, strategic, and inclusive, accessible across age groups and skill levels, improving focus and mental clarity. 
2. From Participation to Movement: The inaugural edition welcomed corporate professionals, entrepreneurs, students, creatives and homemakers, creating a space where competition meets compassion. The second edition scales this to 12 franchise teams and 96 players.
3. Same Sport, Bigger Purpose: This edition dedicates itself to Breast Cancer Awareness – using sport to drive conversations around early screening, support survivors and celebrate strength.
Final 12 Teams for 2026:
1. Global Squad
2. Chambal Gharials 
3. Mahana Ventures
4. Maratha Warriors
5. Essen Vision Defenders
6. Delhi Dhakad
7. LV Spartans - London
8. Urjja Strikers
9. Century Warriors
10. Desi Warriorz
11. Teamo Productions Pvt. Ltd.
12. High Fly Freight Services
Partners: BIG FM (Radio Partner), Hathway & DEN (Telecast Partner), Global Advertisers Pvt. Ltd. (Outdoor Partner), Khar Gymkhana – KG (Venue Partner).
“We started YANA to prove that sport can heal as much as it can compete. From 8 teams in March to 12 teams now, the growth shows Mumbai needed this. This October, every smash will be for change,” said Krishna Kotian, Founder, YANA Sports.
For Media, Sponsorship & Player Entries:
YANA Sports | | Khar Gymkhana, Mumbai
 

From Batamaloo to the Podium: The Icestock Journey of Faheem Masood Shah
There are athletes who chase medals, and there are athletes who build a movement. In Jammu & Kashmir, Faheem Masood Shah has quietly become both.
Faheem's latest outing came at the Himadari Ice Rink in Dehradun, an international-standard facility that hosted a national IcestockSport tournament featuring squads from Karnataka, Maharashtra, Chandigarh, Gujarat, Goa, Uttarakhand, Delhi and other states. Leading Jammu & Kashmir as captain, Faheem returned home with two gold medals, two silver medals and a bronze — a result that surprised no one who has followed his decade-long career on the ice.
Born in 1992 in Batamaloo, Srinagar, Faheem's introduction to competitive sport had nothing to do with ice. Football, cricket, rugby and athletics filled his childhood, sharpening the reflexes and competitive instinct that would later define his icestock game. It was during a snow rugby event in Gulmarg in 2014 that he first picked up an icestock — handed to him, almost by chance, by Manfred Schafer, then head of the International Federation of IcestockSport. His first throw hit the target. He has barely stopped since.
What followed was over a decade of steady, often unglamorous graft: training on poorly maintained ice, competing with borrowed gear, and traveling to international meets on shoestring budgets, all in a country where winter sports infrastructure remains thin, and in a region where it is thinner still.
The results, however, tell their own story. Faheem has represented India in more than 200 international matches and picked up medals across three continents. A career highlight came at the 2025 World Icestock Championship in Kapfenberg & Stanz, Austria, where he helped India to a team bronze medal and a fourth-place finish in Team Long Distance, lifting India to a Top-7 world ranking in the Team Game category — one of the strongest results posted by an Indian side at that level.
Away from the rink, Faheem has built an equally serious second career. He holds a degree in Computer Engineering and a master's degree in Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, has worked as a programmer and certified UX designer, and is an independent researcher with contributions to published research. Few of his rivals on the ice, in India or abroad, carry a resume quite like it.
Yet those who know him say it is his work off the rink that matters most to him. Through the Vaadi E Kashmir Foundation, Faheem is involved in youth development, digital literacy and community sports programmes across the Valley, and is a familiar sight coaching children on makeshift rinks after his own competitions wrap up. Kids in Gulmarg and Srinagar follow his results closely; for many, he has become proof that a path exists — even from a region with little winter sports tradition and even less support.
"We're not that far behind," Faheem has said of India's standing in the sport. "We just need people to believe in us."
With the Dehradun tournament now added to an already long list of national titles, Faheem's ambitions have not slowed. The European Championships are next on his calendar, with Olympic qualification the ultimate target — a goal he has framed not as a personal milestone, but as a message to "every kid who thinks they can't make it because they're from Kashmir."



Career Tournament Record
   Year
 Event
 Level
 Location
 Result
    2014
 1st National Ice Stock Sport Championship
 National
 Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir, India
 Gold, Gold
   2015
 2nd National Ice Stock Sport Championship
 National
 Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir, India
 Gold, Silver
   2016
 3rd National Ice Stock Sport Championship
 National
 Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir, India
 Gold, Silver, Silver
   2017
 4th National Ice Stock Sport Championship
 National
 Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir, India
 Gold, Gold, Silver
   2018
 5th National Ice Stock Sport Championship
 National
 Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir, India
 Gold, Silver
   2018
 12th Ice Stock Sport World Cup
 World Championship
 Austria
 10th Place
   2019
 6th National Ice Stock Sport Championship
 National
 Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir, India
 Gold, Gold, Silver, Silver, Bronze
   2019
 International Ice Stock Sport Cup
 International
 China
 5th Place
   2020
 13th Ice Stock Sport World Championship
 World Championship
 Regen, Bavaria, Germany
 7th Place
   2021
 7th National Ice Stock Sport Championship
 National
 Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir, India
 Gold, Silver
   2021
 Summer National Ice Stock Sport Championship
 National
 SKISC, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, India
 Gold, Gold, Gold, Silver
   2022
 8th National Ice Stock Sport Championship
 National
 Jammu & Kashmir, India
 Gold, Silver
   2022
 14th Ice Stock Sport World Championship
 World Championship
 Ritten, Italy
 7th Place
   2023
 9th National Ice Stock Sport Championship
 National
 Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir, India
 Gold, Gold, Gold, Silver, Bronze, Bronze
   2023
 3rd Khelo India National Winter Games
 —
 Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir, India
 Gold, Silver, Silver, Bronze
   2023
 2nd Summer National Ice Stock Sport Championship
 National
 Pune, Maharashtra, India
 Gold, Gold, Gold, Silver, Silver, Bronze, Bronze
   2024
 10th National Ice Stock Sport Championship
 National
 Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir, India
 Gold, Gold, Gold, Silver, Silver
   2024
 3rd National Ice Stock Sport Summer Championship
 National
 Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, India
 Silver, Silver
   2025
 11th National Ice Stock Sport Championship
 National
 Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir, India
 Gold, Gold, Silver, Silver, Bronze
   2025
 15th Ice Stock Sport World Championship
 World Championship
 Kapfenberg & Stanz, Austria
 Bronze
   2025
 National Summer Ice Stock Sport Tournament
 National
 Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India
 Gold, Silver
   2026
 12th National Ice Stock Sport Championship
 National
 Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir, India
 Gold, Gold, Silver, Silver
   2026
 National Ice Stock Sport Tournament
 National
 Himadari Ice Rink, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India
 Gold, Gold, Silver, Silver, Bronze