Author: Boria Majumdar

One of the most-talked-about buys at the IPL auction in February 2022 was Shreyas Iyer. Many had, in fact, predicted that Shreyas would be the most expensive acquisition, and it was a well-reasoned argument. Iyer, a genuine match-winner, had led Delhi with considerable success and was an obvious captaincy choice for the franchise that managed to draft him. KKR did, and much was expected from him. “I have to tell you this. We were eyeing Shreyas for years now, and for the first time, made a pitch for him in the very first year that he had made himself available…

In a photograph that has now gone viral on social media, Rinku Singh is seen at the Eden Gardens praying to the stumps and seeking blessings ahead of the season. The Rinku gesture sums up the IPL perfectly. At its core, it remains very Indian and is the perfect mesh between the traditional and the modern. In the course of the sixteen years since the inception of the IPL, I have spent time with multiple teams and owners and been amazed at the kind of passion the league generates. For example, the entire senior management of one of the teams…

It was well past midnight, and yet I wasn’t sleepy for a second. Lakshya Sen was playing some incredible badminton and making the point that he was back to his best. Even when he lost the first game after an incredible late surge, it was clear that his corner was all charged up. The legendary Prakash Padukone and Vimal Kumar both rushed to Lakshya, and instructions were passed on. Sen was nodding in agreement and looked focussed to make amends in the second game. And he did. In style. Deft placements meshed with power smashes, Sen upped his game and…

I had gone to pick up my daughter from school when a group of young boys walked up to me and asked if they could speak for a minute. Curiosity got the better of me and despite being late, I had a chat. “Sir, you keep saying it is about performance,” said one of the boys. “We see your shows. But then, how can Virat be dropped on the basis of performance? He was the highest scorer in the World Cup and in the World T20 in Australia, he played the greatest T20 innings.” Clearly, he was a Kohli fan.…

The round-of-32 match at the All England Open between Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty and the Daddies, Hendra Setiawan and Mohammed Ahsan, had just ended and the players were at the net for the customary handshakes. In fact, the end was dramatic with Chirag’s smash giving the Daddies no chance. The lame attempt to get it back was the story. The passing of the baton. For years, Ahsan and Setiawan have been the benchmark in men’s doubles. Now, they have a pair who are gradually establishing themselves as the real successors to the throne. Satwik-Chirag are the pair to beat at the…

There were 40 athletes. Other policy makers, corporates and federation presidents. In all, 55 people to receive and drop back over three days. Each a success story, and an ego associated with that. One mistake, and it would be held against you. Things would turn sour, and the experience would be spoilt. The very same thing applied to panel timings. You were dealing with high-profile speakers. If you didn’t maintain time, it would be disrespectful to the next panel. And to maintain time with people of eminence is the most difficult thing of all. Someone could be ten or 15…

It was the second time I asked Igor Stimac the question in the course of the same interview. In fact, I wasn’t sure if he would give me a straight answer or be diplomatic. The answer would give me a sense of his mind and hence it was important I asked the coach one more time. “How confident is he about taking India to the third round of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers?” Even before I had finished the question, I saw him smiling. It wasn’t a nervous smile. Rather, it was one of confidence, as if he was expecting…

Abhinav Bindra, Sourav Ganguly and Neeraj Chopra. These are three people who have all faced extreme pressure. You don’t shoot an Olympic gold medal without feeling the pressure. You don’t captain India in cricket for 200 games without handling pressure. And you don’t win an Olympic gold and follow it with golds at the Asian Games, World Championships and Diamond League competitions if you wilt under pressure. There is pressure. And it’s intense. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will feel it today at the All England. And in Paris. Everyone else will as well. We have seen many an athlete…

The empowerment walk. It made the Trailblazers Conclave 2.0 what it was – a story of inclusivity and sensitivity. It all started with a chat with my friend, Suman Saha. What could we do to make the conclave more inclusive? While the sessions are all intense, could there be something which was different and yet stood testament to what we stand for? For days, we kept thinking. Till the time Suman, Sameer, Ramneek, Sharmistha, Harish and I had a long brainstorming session. We arrived at what we called the empowerment walk. We aren’t models. We wouldn’t normally be considered ‘ramp-walk…

In an event of scale like the Trailblazers Conclave 2.0, you want to make a difference to your audience. Give them something to take back home and feel good about. While the presence of India’s best athletes and the quality of sessions was incentive enough, the endeavour is always to go one notch higher. How do you try and make sure that at least some from the audience feel empowered to take up sport? And for us, it was about both able-bodied and Para sport. How do we encourage kids with disabilities to follow the example of the Paralympic…