Author: Boria Majumdar

Exclusive Rohan Bopanna has had the most amazing year and he isn’t done yet. From making the semi finals at Wimbledon to going one better at the US Open and making the finals with Matt Ebden, the 43 years 6 month old star, has also created a world record in the process. He is now the oldest man to play a US Open Men’s Doubles final in the Open era having surpassed Daniel Nestor’s record. And later today he will turn up one last time for India in the Davis Cup bringing to a close an illustrious career spanning nearly…

I write this on September 15 at 10am. According to the original itinerary, the Indian football team was to train in Thailand and leave for China from Thailand on September 16, to get in two practice sessions ahead of the first game against China on September 19. The camp did not happen for reasons now known to all, and the team made it back to India on September 12 before the players went back to their ISL clubs because the FIFA window was over. From the information available, ten players from the formally announced list are yet to receive their…

In a major development centering the Indian Football team’s participation at the Asian Games, RevSportz has learnt that skipper Sunil Chhetri and Coach Igor Stimac are both trying to make a special request to the ISL clubs to release 2 players each and in some case 1 based on the latest list submitted by the coach to the AIFF. They both feel that it is the only way India can be competitive and if the clubs do this it won’t harm their ISL preparations or AFC cup chances. This is a final ditch attempt at a compromise formula where everyone…

After days of uncertainty, the Indian football team for the Asian Games is finally out. And Sunil Chhetri, India’s greatest star, is the one who will lead the young team to China. Is this India’s best team possible? NO. Is the situation ideal? NO. Can the team be competitive- YES. With the club versus country debate raging and other unnecessary controversies taking up a lot of newsprint, it wasn’t easy for the stakeholders involved. The Asian Games is not part of the FIFA window and hence the clubs are within their rights not to release key players. It took much…

In a major development for Indian football, AIFF and FSDL have finally come together and ensured that Sunil Chhetri will lead the Indian Football Team to China at the Asian Games. Ending huge speculation this is now final. And the team will be announced anytime now. Over the last two days hectic negotiations have been going on between the AIFF top brass and FSDL officials. And eventually in national interest, this decision was taken. Sunil Chhetri had earlier said how much he is looking forward to leading the team in Hangzhou. It is also expected that coach Stimac will accompany…

How do I remember Shane Warne? Walking the first couple of steps before jogging on to the bowling crease and giving the ball a rip – classic Warne. And with him around, anything could happen. For years, the ball was transformed into a canvas in the hands of the artist. Each time he flicked his wrist, we would see colours of a different hue. Mike Gatting witnessed it first hand in what we now know and recognise as the Ball of the Century. The ball, under the impact of the many revolutions Warne had imparted on it, had little…

In the five occasions that India beat Pakistan in the 50-over World Cups between 1992 and 2011, Sachin Tendulkar won the man of the match award on three occasions – in 1992, 2003 and 2011. The only occasion India and Pakistan players came together to play as part of the same team was in 1996, when Australia and West Indies refused to tour Sri Lanka citing security concerns. A joint India-Pakistan team toured the island as a symbolic gesture. In the India-Pakistan joint team that toured Sri Lanka in 1996, it was decided that there would be an Indian captain…

As we gear up for another eagerly awaited India-Pakistan encounter, on Sunday at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, we go back down memory lane to unearth some weird and wonderful stories about the rivalry. Indian captains have often lost their jobs following a Pakistan series, despite doing well across the border. Lala Amarnath lost his position despite winning the series 2-1 in 1952 and Kris Srikkanth was removed after drawing a four-Test series in 1989. Failing against India has cost Pakistan captains dear. After losing a series to India, not only did Pakistan skipper Asif Iqbal lose his job,…

Sport is never about revenge. Then it would not be sport. But then, it is also about winning when it matters and setting the record straight. And the best part about sport is it always gives you an opportunity. For Rohan Bopanna, there is one such opportunity tonight as he steps on court for the US Open Men’s doubles final against familiar foe and friend Rajeev Ram. Ram and Joe Salisbury are the defending champions and are seeded third in this edition of the Slam. In 2022, they won the title as the top seeds. Clearly, they have the…

It was about 30 minutes after the match had ended, and India’s Blue Tigers had suffered a heartbreaking 4-5 loss on penalties. This, after being robbed of a win by the referee who awarded Iraq a generous penalty in the 80th minute when India were leading 2-1 and seemed in control. Twice, India led. Twice, Iraq equalised, the second goal coming from that soft and dubious penalty. When I managed to get Igor Stimac, the coach, on a call, he sounded distraught. Normally a positive person, he was finding it very hard to speak. When we sat down for the…