Author: Boria Majumdar

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…

Table Tennis is one sport where India has made considerable improvement in the last few years. Against all odds, the team won two medals at the 2018 Asian Games, and Birmingham 2022 was also a very good outing for India’s paddlers. In mixed doubles, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Manika Batra have notched some really good performances, while Sharath Kamal and Sathiyan too have played some good matches including at the World Championships, where they lost a very close contest 2-3 in the pre-quarters. In women’s doubles too, the pair of Sreeja Akula and Diya Chitale have been impressive. With the Ultimate…

Bhavina Patel was little-known to Indian sports fans ahead of the Tokyo Olympics. But with the historic silver, she became a household name. And once that happens, people start to follow your progress and expect big things. For example, she was built up as a gold-medal contender for the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, and we all know what that entails. Pressure is an uneasy thing to deal with, but in Bhavina’s case she dealt with the expectations superbly well on the way to a historic gold. She is now a role model for many and stands true to our series…

I have now seen the video of our skipper smashing the stumps over 20 times. And each time I have done so, I have been left with a sense of disbelief. Yes, it was intense out there and she was determined to win it for India. Yes, the umpire could have given her a bad decision and, in the absence of DRS, there was nothing she could do about it. Yes, the series was on the line. But to wait a few seconds and then smash the stumps with full force was not something befitting of and India captain and…

Sumit Antil is a rare athlete. He has already broken multiple world records in the last few years, and is expected to break a few more in the Asian Para Games and the Paris Paralympics in 2024. Rooted and humble, Antil is committed to the cause of para sports in India and feels the time is ripe to push through ground-breaking changes in the domain. Sumit was my guest in the fourth episode of Trailblazers, a show celebrating our Paralympic Champions, and presented by Tata Steel. Boria: In Paris, your throw of 70.83m was a phenomenal one. To see an…

Sports and politics are inseparable. They always have been, and always will be. Anyone who suggests something to the contrary is in fact making a political statement, and denying the truth. Each time the national anthem is played on the sports field, it is a celebration of nationalism and a political act. Players with hands on their hearts singing the national anthem while standing on the medal podium seeing their national flag go up is the most celebrated sight in sport, and nothing could be a more potent symbol of patriotism. We have seen Mirabai Chanu do that for India.…

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) Press release on Tuesday afternoon was meant to be a clarification on the wrestling selection trials. Damage control for the backlash against the decision taken by the ad-hoc panel administering the sport. But then, it did not stop at that. What it also contained was a very important paragraph that suggested that PT Usha, the IOA President, is against sending the Indian men’s football team to the Asian Games. By stating that the IOA is in agreement with the ministerial requirement of being in the top eight for a sport to become eligible for the…