Boria Majumdar
When you are running a start-up, the constant question is how best to use the resources at your disposal. What are the assignments you should focus on, and which are the ones you should let go? We at RevSportz are no different. And yet, we are. In a month where there are multiple India-Pakistan cricket matches, the easy way out is to allocate resources there. Yes, the backdrop isn’t cricket alone, and it is largely geopolitics that has resulted in these games being played where they are. But they are still India-Pakistan matches, and they will be followed and watched. So, spend money to send reporters and do proper coverage highlighting the sensitivities, and you will be watched. But then, that’s the easy way out.
At the same time as India-Pakistan, India’s women’s team will be playing Australia in a three-match series ahead of the much-awaited Women’s World Cup. Thereafter, the team will be in Guwahati for warm-up games before they play their first World Cup match on September 30. The tournament will continue till November 2, and is perhaps India’s best opportunity to win a Women’s World Cup and make history.
Needless to say, we will be there. Just like for the Asia Cup, multiple people will be there on ground for the women’s games in Mullanpur and New Delhi, and during the World Cup. Coverage with equal intensity and passion, and equal verve.
As I write this, Abhishek Mishra, one of our younger reporters, is on his way back from Rajgir having completed the Asia Cup Hockey assignment. It was a big learning curve for him, coming on the back of the National Athletics Championships in Chennai. On-ground coverage helps him know the players and, in turn, facilitates growth as a journalist.
Soon enough, Atreyo Mukhopadhyay, one of our senior colleagues, will be in Goa for a month between late October and end November for the Chess World Cup. Atreyo has covered chess diligently in the last two years, and will continue to do so.
Finally, the other major event this month is the Para World Athletics in Delhi. With over 100 countries participating, it is essential we have proper on-ground reportage. I am proud to say we will have three of our reporters on ground and will cover every medal-winning effort from the JLN stadium. “India is expected to win 20-plus medals this year,” said Devendra Jhajharia, President of PCI.
Most importantly, we have strong support for our Para sport and women’s cricket coverage. If there is a will, there is always a way. Be it Food and Wellness or Getafix, our annual partners, or renewed/newer associations with the likes of Fanatic Sports, Sportiz, Deep Prakashan and BIBS – not to forget the strong support from our investors – we will never hold back from covering multi-sport with passion. As Chirodeep Bhattacharya, founder of Getafix, said to me, “With time, the gap in coverage will diminish. We will do our little bit in making this change happen.” Nishant Maheshwari of Sportiz said pretty much the same: “As a sports company, it is an opportunity to step up. We are in this together.”
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