Author: Boria Majumdar

EXCLUSIVE Sir Curtly Ambrose on Jasprit Bumrah’s return to international cricket. “Bumrah should take things gradually and not go a little slow at the start. Once he has a few matches under his belt, he can do what he did earlier. India needs him at his best in the world cup so he has a bit of time.” If you are an Indian cricket fan, the best news of the last few days, revealed by BCCI Secretary Jay Shah, is that Jasprit Bumrah is fit. In fact, media reports have now confirmed that Bumrah has started to bowl to the…

“You have now beaten the English on the sporting field. When will you help bring down the flag fluttering there?” asked a Brahmin clad all in white of Reverend Krishnamohan Chatterjee, one of the stars of the victory, pointing to the Union Jack fluttering over Fort William, the headquarters of the British garrison in Calcutta. The 29th of July 1911, 112 years ago. The IFA Shield Final. The Calcutta maidan. Mohun Bagan vs East Yorkshire Regiment. Mohun Bagan lost the toss and was placed towards Eden Garden and East York towards Fort William. The atmosphere was electric. For days, there…

What is the latest on the participation of Sunil Chhetri, Sandesh Jhingan and Gurpreet Sandhu in the Asian Games? Will the three players be part of the team? Will they be in Hangzhou? Why weren’t their names sent in the original list of 22 players? Was it done thereafter, and what’s the exact status now? Kalyan Chaubey, the AIFF President, clears the air in this conversation with Boria Majumdar. Boria: Mr. Chaubey, could you please tell us what is the latest on the participation of the three senior players – Sunil, Sandesh, and Gurpreet – in the Asian Games? Chaubey:…

EXCLUSIVE Bangladesh skipper Nigar Sultana Joty on the India series. “I felt Harmanpreet would say well played to my girls at the prize giving. It would have meant the world to them, who consider her their hero. Instead, what happened was disrespectful and hurtful, and it was best I walked away from there with my team.” The India-Bangladesh women’s series has been the subject of much deliberation recently. While the talk has mostly centered on Harmanpreet Kaur and her conduct, and perhaps rightly so, there hasn’t been much talk about the Bangladesh side of the story. The BCCI by not…

It was yet another important day for Indian football as the draws for the World Cup Qualifiers and the Asian Games were announced. And the man synonymous with the sport in India spoke to me soon after the draws were done. Here is Sunil Chhetri on India’s Asian Games participation, the World Cup draw and more. Boria: Now that the Asian Games participation is confirmed, how pleased are you? Chhetri: I am very pleased. It is a great opportunity for all of us, and you need to play with the better teams to improve. We are playing China, which is…

IGOR STIMAC EXCLUSIVE It was 6pm in India, and Anurag Thakur, the Sports Minister, had just tweeted the news that all of India’s football players and fans were waiting for. That both the Indian men’s and women’s football teams would be traveling to China for the Hangzhou Asian Games. As soon as the news came in, I got a message from Igor Stimac, the India men’s team coach, which said, “We have done it.” And just as I called him back, Stimac was all excited. “It is a huge moment for every Indian football fan,” he said. “It is a…

In exactly 365 days from today, all eyes will be on Paris as it hosts the games of the 33rd Summer Olympiad. And for the first time in years, India, it gives me pleasure to write, looks to be well prepared. While things can change either way a year from now, the preparation so far has been reasonably good. If things go right, Paris promises to be the best Olympics in Indian sporting history, with the country touching the coveted double-digit-medal mark. To predict the number of medals India could win is somewhat irrational. But suffice to say, the number…

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has suspended Harmanpreet Kaur, the India Women’s team captain, for two matches. She could potentially miss India’s quarter-final and semi-final matches at the Asian Games, if the pre-competition favourites progress that far. It is a very fair call from the custodians of the game. Anything less than a ban would have sent the wrong signal to the next generation of stars. It would have bred further sense of entitlement and set a very sorry example. The worst aspect of the fiasco was to see Harmanpreet’s actions get justified on social media. Some called it a…

She is a very well-known figure in Indian sports circles and, as co-owner of Chennaiyin FC and the founder of Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT), has already done some stellar work in the domain. Not just in elite high-performance sport, as founder of the Elms Foundation, Vita Dani has also done some serious work in furthering physical literacy in India. With the UTT going well, Vita spoke to Boria Majumdar about the league, football and her vision. Boria: The UTT seem to be going really well. You should be really pleased? Vita Dani: Yes, the tournament has gone really really well,…

EXCLUSIVE It was 10:08pm in South Korea when the call came. We had been trying to connect for close to an hour, but each time the call would drop. This was because Pullela Gopichand, Satwik Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were on the bus to Incheon Airport, where they would stay the night in a hotel before flying to Japan on Monday afternoon to get ready for the Japan Open. Within an hour of winning the Korea Open in Yeosu, the trio had boarded the bus for Incheon. It was a seven-hour-long bus journey, and evidence of the commitment and passion…