Author: Boria Majumdar

After arriving in Hangzhou for the Asian Games, the Indian men’s football team played two matches in less than 48 hours. Some, however, would argue that there have been three games played. More than the 5-1 defeat to China, the hosts, or the tense 1-0 victory against Bangladesh, the headlines have been dominated by the blame game – with news outlets, justifiably, questioning why India’s preparation and travel to the Games was such a colossal mess. Those questions were more pointed because the central government had intervened in late July to give the squad special permission to participate. It is…

It was exactly a month ago that I had a chat with Antim Panghal’s father. He was agitated and upset. His daughter, despite winning the Asian Games trials, hadn’t been picked to represent India in Hangzhou and the 53kg spot was reserved for Vinesh Phogat, arguably India’s most decorated female wrestler in recent times. Antim had even moved court seeking justice. While the court upheld the decision to send Vinesh, it was as if the Gods wanted Antim to get an opportunity. Unfortunately for Vinesh and India, she suffered an injury and had to get operated on. That’s what…

It wasn’t pretty, but in the circumstances, it doesn’t need to be. India’s football team, strengthened by the arrival of squad members who had been delayed, stayed alive in the Asian Games by grinding out a 1-0 victory over Bangladesh, thanks to an 81st minute penalty from Sunil Chhetri, captain and talisman. “It was a well-deserved win, with all that’s been going on around us,” said Igor Stimac, the national coach. “Once again, our boys left everything out there and did exactly as I told them. I asked them to be patient and the goal would come. Keeping a clean…

Anurag Thakur, the Union Sports Minister, announced that the Indian football team would be going to the Asian Games on July 26, a full seven weeks before the squad flew to China. And yet, the team landed in Hangzhou just 18 hours before their first match against the hosts and checked into their hotel rooms only 15 hours before kick-off. No international team could have performed in such a situation. To add to that, India did not have the full complement of 22 players. The bench was half-empty, and five of those selected in the squad did not travel with…

The Indian football team is already depleted in the absence of key players. Also, four of those who played against China are suffering with cramps, and playing them against Bangaldesh on Thursday afternoon, less than 48 hours after the first game, could cause serious injuries. Sumit Rathi, Bryce Miranda and Amarjit Singh Kiyam all suffered with cramp during the China match, and the Bangladesh game on September 21 will kick off at 4pm local time, when the heat and humidity will be even more intense. Hangzhou is presently much hotter than Kolkata, with similar humidity levels, making it extremely…

Cricket’s expansion into the United States of America (USA) will gain much impetus with matches being hosted there during the T20 World Cup in June 2024. With Major League Cricket (MLC) already having taken root, these are exciting times for US cricket, and the International Cricket Council (ICC) is hoping to cash in with the help of purpose-built modular stadiums. The centre piece of this project will be in New York State’s Nassau County. A 34,000-seat stadium will be assembled from scratch at a sports park, with the turf to be made ready by consultants who work with both American…

It was 552am in the morning and the sun was already out in Kolkata. 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 in Kolkata. It was a special invite from Rahul Bose, President of Rugby India, to watch the Indian team train just ahead of the Asian Games. Unlike what I had seen a year earlier, the girls are no longer just 5 feet. A number of them seemed taller and heavier and some of them are now 5…

Sanju Samson was part of the Indian plan for the World Cup, with KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer both recuperating from injury. He got a few chances to make a strong case for himself and, to be fair, could have done better with the limited opportunities he was given. But then, Suryakumar Yadav too did not do great things in the ODI format, and was yet picked based on potential. Samson, with Rahul and Shreyas both back in the squad, doesn’t even find a spot in the Asian Games team. He is nowhere to be found. That’s why it seems…

With the Asia Cup won and in style, the one man who would start to feel the most pressure is Rohit Sharma, India’s captain. The World Cup could well be his final opportunity to lead the team to an ICC Trophy, the promised land whose borders have been shut to India for more than a decade now. Let me take you back a little. It was the first time I was meeting Rohit since that fateful day in Manchester in July 2019, and it was expected that the conversation would turn to the World Cup at some point. “The five…

The Indian football team will take the field against China, the Asian Games hosts, at 5pm India time on Tuesday evening. And as we publish this piece at 5pm on September 18, exactly 24 hours before the game, the team hasn’t even reached Hangzhou. They will touch down only four or five hours from now, and will play their first game within 18 hours of reaching the host city. Also, of the 22 players picked for the Asian Games, India will be missing the services of five for the first match against China. Aniket Jadhav, Narender Gahlot, Chinglensana Singh, Gurkirat…