Author: Boria Majumdar

Successful sports stories don’t happen overnight. They need to be nurtured for years for the world to see them in full bloom. For an 87.58m javelin throw or a badminton academy that changes the course of the sport forever, years of effort are in the background. And in many of these cases, the mother, literally, is the unsung hero. On Mother’s Day, it is essential that we celebrate some of these women and their contribution to sport. A trip to the Pullela Gopichand academy in Hyderabad, India’s medal-winning badminton factory, can never be complete without dining with the young students…

I got this message in our work group the morning after the Rajasthan Royals’ game in Kolkata. “There was quite an emotional moment last night after the match,” it said. “The stands were empty. Yashasvi had just finished his post-match presentation. Suddenly he rushed to the middle, towards the wicket where the groundsmen were standing. He took pictures with each one of them. This humble attitude of Yashasvi will take him a long way in his journey. He also took a few selfies. In fact, he was clicking them for the handful of fans who were still around. Respect…

Winning the orange or purple cap is great for the player, but a team sport is not about the individual. Never was. Unless the team wins, the orange cap is no more than a statistic. And that’s where Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni stand out. Rohit Sharma has not been at his best with the bat in the IPL. Even he will agree that his form hasn’t been up to the mark. While he looked great against Gujarat Titans, consistency has been missing. And yet he has found ways to win games for Mumbai Indians as a leader. Some will…

Is Rashid a kind of Jackie Robinson? Has he done what Robinson did in the United States of America in the 1940s? Was breaking the colour line any harder than battling insurgency and making a mark in a global sporting world, thus inspiring a generation to do the same? By doing what he has, Rashid has not only enhanced his own reputation, but catapulted Afghanistan to the forefront of world cricket’s consciousness. This year will only add to his achievements. Just as Sachin Tendulkar unhesitatingly calls him the best in the business in cricket’s shortest format, it is time to…

In light of all that is going on with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), one wonders what is the way forward. The questions that we don’t have answers to just yet are: will the Asia Cup happen, and if so, would it be hosted in Sri Lanka? Will Pakistan play or will they be obstinate and pull out of the tournament? With the country on the verge of an emergency, would that be a prudent call and good one for Pakistan cricket? What impact could such a pull-out have on the World Cup? Also, if the PCB’s second hybrid-hosting model…

They are the best we have at the moment, and they have proved time and again that they are capable of being the best in the world. From winning the Thomas Cup to winning the Commonwealth Games gold, a World Championship medal, the French Open Super series to, most recently, the Badminton Asia Championships, Satwik Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty are now one of the most feared teams on the doubles circuit. And if coach Mathias Boe is to be believed, they are ready for the big multi-sport events like the Asian Games and the Olympics. In this conversation with Boria…

He was one of the main architects of the incredible Thomas Cup win a year ago, and rates it as one of the greatest moments in his career and in the history of Indian badminton. And now, HS Prannoy goes into the Sudirman Cup as the world No.7, the highest-ranked Indian in the men’s singles. Speaking to Boria Majumdar ahead of the team’s departure for China, Prannoy opened up on what it is like to play as a team, the pressures of the Olympic qualification cycle, beating higher-ranked players regularly and more. Excerpts. Boria: You had a really good year…

Fans often overreact – that’s the very nature of fandom. But to a degree, they are entitled to. This is for the simple reason that the two most important constituents of the IPL, or any sporting event for that matter, are the players and the fans. Unless the fans watch, there is no IPL. They help the broadcasters make money, encourage the advertisers to spend and make the tournament what it is. They make heroes of the players and create brands of them. The best example was when the Kolkata Knight Riders won the tournament in 2012. Over 80,000 fans…

Dear Najam Sethi, you have given an interview to an Indian YouTube channel wherein you have stated that there is no ICC sanction if there is security concern in a host country, which Pakistan has in India. And you have used this to say that Pakistan will not travel to India for the World Cup and want a hybrid model instead, where they can play their games in some other country. First of all, for an Indian platform to allow you to peddle your twisted political agenda was pathetic. In fact, the channel did not ask you a single…

All the things that could go possibly go wrong for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) did at the start of the season. Losing Shreyas Iyer to injury was a cruel blow. So, the furst question asked was who could replace him as captain. Andre Russell and Sunil Narine were possible candidates, but the Eoin Morgan experience meant that KKR opted for an Indian as leader. To everyone’s surprise, they went for Nitish Rana. For a domestic star to captain a franchise team is rare. More so when the squad has senior internationals like Russell, Jason Roy, Umesh Yadav and Shardul…