Sports
Pink Parade 2026 puts women’s strength centre stage in Mumbai
Ace Blend and On Tour rally runners to rewrite fitness myths
MUMBAI: The sea breeze at Breach Candy Promenade carried more than just the scent of salt on Sunday morning. It carried a message. Strength has no stereotype.
Pink Parade 2026, a 5 km community run hosted by Ace Blend in partnership with On Tour, brought together Mumbai’s fitness enthusiasts in a spirited show of solidarity for women’s health. From first-timers to seasoned runners, participants laced up not only to clock miles but to challenge long-held assumptions around women and supplementation.
The morning began with a guided warm-up session between 7.15 am and 7.30 am, before the run set off at 7.30 am sharp. Clad in exclusive Pink Parade T-shirts and fanny packs, runners turned the promenade into a moving ribbon of colour and camaraderie.
Post-run, the energy flowed into Greenr, where participants cooled down over smoothies infused with Ace Blend’s Pink Creatine. The product, central to the event’s theme, seeks to reposition creatine from a male-dominated gym supplement to a broader performance ally for women. Its distinctive hue comes from Polish tart cherries, known for supporting rest and recovery.
While creatine has traditionally been marketed towards men chasing muscle gains, growing research points to its wider benefits, from muscle recovery and cellular energy production to potential cognitive support. Pink Parade used the power of community to underline that performance is not defined by gender, but by goals.
Ace Blend founder Shivam Hingorani, said the initiative was about more than a single morning run. “For us, Pink Parade was not just a run, but the start of a movement. For years, creatine has been marketed in a narrow way. We want to normalise conversations around women’s performance, not just in the gym but in daily life. Supplementation cannot be defined by gender, it is defined by ambition.”
The collaboration with On Tour, a community-driven run club known for energising Mumbai’s urban fitness scene, ensured strong turnout across age groups, including entrepreneurs, content creators and wellness advocates. The result was an atmosphere that felt equal parts race day and rallying cry.
Beyond the finish line, Pink Parade 2026 sparked conversations around strength training, recovery and reclaiming pink as a symbol of power rather than pigeonhole. In doing so, it set a brisk pace for a future where fitness narratives are broader, bolder and built on science rather than stereotype.
Sports
JioStar terminates Bangladesh IPL and WPL broadcast rights deals
Payment defaults lead to licence cancellations and potential legal action.
MUMBAI: When the money stops flowing in cricket’s biggest cash cow, even the sub-licence holders can find themselves suddenly bowled out. JioStar India Private Limited has terminated its Bangladesh sub-licence agreements for the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Women’s Premier League (WPL) after the counterparty, Excel Lead IT Solutions FZ-LLC (holding company of broadcaster T-Sports), failed to clear outstanding dues.
The agreements, originally signed with Viacom18 (now part of JioStar) and later novated to Excel Lead, covered digital media rights for the IPL and WPL in Bangladesh for the 2023–27 seasons. In early January 2026, JioStar issued a demand notice for unpaid amounts related to the IPL 2025 and WPL 2025 seasons. Despite providing full access to matches and allowing complete commercial exploitation, the dues remained unpaid even after the cure period expired.
As a result, all licensed rights have automatically reverted to JioStar. The company has demanded immediate payment of all outstanding dues along with overdue interest and costs, and has instructed Excel Lead (T-Sports) to immediately cease any broadcast, streaming, promotion or exploitation of the rights in Bangladesh. Any continued use would constitute unauthorised exploitation.
JioStar is also considering legal proceedings, including interim and injunctive relief, to protect the commercial value of these high-profile cricket properties.
In a separate development, JioStar has invoked arbitration against Green Bean Sports Marketing (an affiliate of Gazi TV Bangladesh) over a sublicensing agreement for IPL television media rights in Bangladesh for the 2023–27 seasons. The agreement was terminated in January 2025 due to contractual breaches and payment issues.
Industry sources say JioStar remains confident in the judicial process and is determined to recover all outstanding amounts, including interest and litigation costs, in full.
The developments highlight a growing zero-tolerance approach by rights holders towards payment defaults and unauthorised exploitation in South Asia’s lucrative sports media market, where marquee cricket properties continue to command premium valuations.
In the high-stakes game of cricket broadcasting, it seems JioStar has decided that when payments don’t come, the game stops and the rights go back to the rightful owner.
