Author: Boria Majumdar

Plenary session announcement We will have 4 plenary sessions spread across two days. And while we announce them one by one, I am delighted to announce that on 7 March 2024, with just months before the International Olympic Committee – IOC Olympic Games in Paris, we will have a session with the two individuals who have made history for India at the Olympic Games- Abhinav A. Bindra OLY and Neeraj Chopra. It will also have Adille Sumariwalla, President of the Athletics Federation of India donning the role of moderator. #Trailblazers2Conclave Know Your Panelists: The man who played a pivotal role…

India were reeling at 40-4 when Sachin Dhas walked in. Uday Saharan, the captain, was on 4 off 15 balls at the time and was looking very uncomfortable. Dhas, however, was unperturbed. At 48-4, he played a pull over mid-wicket that was picture perfect. Rather, it was the shot of a man in control and with a kind of arrogance that pegged South Africa back. The transfer of weight, the swivel, and the perfect timing. Dhas had started to establish himself in the middle and, in doing so, given the Indian innings some much-needed oxygen. Scoring at more than a…

Niccolo Campriani is a great champion of our times. An Olympic legend who won back-to-back gold medals in London 2012 and Rio 2016, and has thereafter gone on to make a significant impact on sport as an administrator. His work on the refugee project with our own Abhinav Bindra has helped change lives. Now as Sports Director of LA 28, Campriani was involved in the process that decided to choose cricket as a part of the LA 28 Games. With Nicco, a mind like no other, you are able to deep dive into the deeper meanings of sport. “When you…

It was a conversation with Ian Bishop days after the World Test Championship final in June 2023. And even before I asked him anything, he said to me, “Jasprit Bumrah.” After a brief pause, he added, “India have not had Bumrah in the World T20 and the WTC final. You need Bumrah if you have to win such key tournaments.” Had Bumrah been at The Oval when Australia were 76-3, who knows what might have happened. While counter history is always fascinating and we love such scenarios, the truth is Bumrah is one of the greatest, if not the best,…

For us in India to win a World Cup football medal is still a pipe dream. For someone to have won it means a lot. Igor Stimac was part of the famed Croatian national team that stunned the world into silence in 1998 on the way to becoming the third best football team in the world. In fact, in the semi-final they were very much in the game till the end of the first-half. Stimac was a key member of the team and thereafter had a stellar career in the EPL as well. For West Ham and Derby County, he…

It was very early on in his innings, and Shubman Gill was not looking comfortable. He had hit a four the previous ball, but even that shot was a miscue over mid-wicket. Tom Hartley bowled one that went with the arm and Gill did not read the trajectory of the ball. As the ball hit his pad plumb in front of the stumps, Gill looked despondent. India were 34-3 and in trouble. Almost as an afterthought, and in consultation with Shreyas Iyer, he reviewed. And when the ball-tracking showed a slight deviation as the ball hit the pad, Gill…

Is sport about winning medals? Breaking records? Raising the bar? Or is sport also about life lessons? Making of a better society and better individuals? For the longest time, the Olympic movement has been equated with a sports competition in India. The world’s greatest sporting spectacle which comes every four years and a nation is measured by the number of medals won. Needless to say India doesn’t really have a record to boast about. But then, is it just about a sports competition? If that was the case, then why use the term “movement”? Do we say the FIFA World…

I am a Mohun Bagan fan and have never hidden that. Having said that, may I also say that when Dimi Petratos pushed Sayan Mukherjee away in anger, it was an offence that could have merited even a red card. That’s what summed up Saturday evening’s derby for me. Poor refereeing that marred the contest. For much of the second half, East Bengal’s players were on the ground play-acting and there were innumerable scuffles that the referee just couldn’t manage. For all the derby intensity, it was an average game impacted by poor refereeing. The penalty was a 50-50 call…

The suspension of the Paralympics Committee of India (PCI) gives the nation a bad name globally after it was suspended by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports on Saturday. The reason for suspension is “non-compliance and for not conducting elections on time.” On the one hand, India won 111 medals at the Para Asian Games in Hangzhou, China last year. The Indian Para athletes were supposed to double its medal count at the forthcoming Paris Paralympics. In such a scenario, the PCI getting suspended is not good news. In all this mess, it is the athletes who lose out.…

Pullela Gopichand had committed to be a part of the Conclave for months now. In fact, in October 2023, we had discussed and finalised the dates with him. Neither of us knew that the Conclave would clash with the French Open Super 750 in Paris. When I realised this, I remember calling Gopi in a somewhat anxious state. Gopi, as usual, was calm. “Once I have promised you I will be there. I will certainly be there”, he said. #Trailblazers2Conclave Know Your Panelists! 2nd Indian to win the All England after Prakash Padukone. The backbone of Indian badminton, the base…