Author: Boria Majumdar

It was 5:52 am in the morning and the sun was already out in Kolkata on September 12, 2023. That’s when Akshay, who heads marketing for Rugby India, called saying he was waiting at the main gate of the SAI Center within the Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Krirangan complex. It was a special invite from Rahul Bose, President of Rugby India, to watch the Indian team train just ahead of the Asian Games. While I had reached at 6 am sharp, Rahul arrived at about 6:30 am. Just as he was speaking, Hupi Majhi, one of the seniors in the team,…

Courage. A very simple word, but with a deeper meaning when it comes to finals. And perhaps something that India has lacked when it comes to the big stage in the last few years. When it comes to Australia, courage is what sets them apart in a big final. Harjas Singh, out of form for the entire tournament, grabbed his opportunity in the final. Courage, as we said. India, on the other hand, were limp. An early collapse and another loss, which is now becoming routine. If it was Travis Head and Steve Smith at The Oval in the WTC…

Why does India lose finals? I wish I knew the answer. But the truth is, India loses. And keeps losing. And lose some more. The senior team loses. The women’s team loses. The U-19 team loses as well. And all to Australia. Add the football team that lost to the same opponent recently at the Asian Cup. Australia and India in finals is a sad sad story. And unless we change this narrative soon, it could become a psychological issue if it isn’t already one. Are Indian teams not able to handle pressure? Is it that we choke on the…

Each time Anju Bobby George started her run to the pit at Athens in 2004, the nation jumped with her. Her jump of 6.83 metres may not have been good enough for a medal but it was enough to make her the poster girl of Indian athletics. This is what the Tribune had to say about her on the eve of the Olympics: “For a Syrian Christian girl from the remote village of Cheeranchira in Kottayam district of Kerala, an Olympic gold was farthest from her dream when she took to athletics at school, at the prodding of her businessman…

She looked fit and focussed as she walked into the hotel in Jaipur. It was our first meeting in some months and my first question had to be on her fitness. Sporting the PV Sindhu smile, it was as if she was expecting it. “I am back to full fitness,” she said. “I did not want to take a chance and aggravate it. Hence the break. Now I am back to my 100 percent and have been training well. The next four tournaments – Malaysia, France, All England and Swiss – will tell me where I stand.” Her father, who…

After a hard-fought derby, Mohun Bagan and East Bengal are back to the grind on Saturday evening. Both teams making the top six is essential for the success of the ISL and the subsequent growth of Indian football. Except Kerala, Bengaluru and Goa, teams which have substantial fan groups backing the teams, no other outfit comes close to Mohun Bagan or East Bengal. In fact, in terms of legacy, these two clubs are unmatched. With rich histories going back more than a hundred years propping them, it is no surprise that both these clubs have thousands of fans who will…

It is a really thin line between brilliance and stupidity. Between confidence and overconfidence, and between self-belief and arrogance. If the lofted shot over mid-off had come off in Vizag and not landed in Ben Stokes’ hands, it would have ranked as a stroke of aggression from Shreyas Iyer. Because it did not, it will go down in history as an example of overconfidence. A moment that could have cost India the match and, for the second time, exposed the immaturity in Iyer. But does Shreyas, a man of talent, always need to live on the edge? Play in a…

PR Sreejesh is a legend of Indian sport and is not done yet. Be it fitness or passion, he is still right up there with the very best in the world and looking forward to the Paris Olympics. It is quite unbelievable when we think of it. How does he look back at this incredible journey? This is what Sreejesh said: “When I started, I did not even think of 50 games, let alone 300. You don’t think you can play 100 games for your country, and then when it starts to happen, you just go with the flow and…

Ben Stokes felt technology played spoilsport in Vizag when Zak Crawley was given out. For India and Kuldeep Yadav, however, it was the turning point in the game. Crawley gone for 73, and India could sense victory. Kuldeep, who had literally pleaded with Rohit Sharma to take the review, was a bundle of emotion when ball-tracking showed three reds. He literally couldn’t control himself, and his screams were proof what the wicket meant to him. For Kuldeep, the last few years have been tough. Benched on occasions, he had also lost his spot in the Indian T20 team. Playing for…

From not winning a medal at the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games to winning 22 medals at the Asian Games, the transformation in Indian shooting is a fascinating story. It is best epitomised by the young Sift Kaur Samra. She has already won a Paris 2024 quota for India in the 50m 3-positions event at the World Championships in Baku in August. And in China, she gave us evidence why India can dream about her in the future. Leading the final from the very first series, Samra shot 469.6 to obliterate the world record by 2.6 points to…