Author: Boria Majumdar

You have to go past Lake Town in Kolkata every single time you go to the airport. And each time, you will see the 70-foot statue of Lionel Messi. Each such visit is a reminder of a disaster, a scar that will take time to heal. We have spent a lot of time analysing how it was a collective disaster. From the promoters to our hero-worship culture and political takeover, we know how things went south. But this isn’t about that anymore. Rather, when I think back and realise that Messi left Kolkata without kicking a football, it will…

It’s been another golden year for Indian shooting. Following on from multiple medals at the Paris Olympics, Indian shooters distinguished themselves at various global meets, with several stars coming to the fore. With the Asian Games looming in 2026 and one eye firmly on the Los Angeles Olympics (2028), Boria Majumdar, RevSportz editor-in-chief, spoke to Kalikesh Singh Deo, president of the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), for the first episode of a new season of Backstage with Boria. They spoke of recent gains, the road ahead and establishing shooting as a franchise sport. Boria: Most successful sport in India…

Repositioning a brand is a humungous task, especially when the brand already has credibility and stature. How do you make it better? What should the messaging be? How do you make clients feel vindicated for buying into you? How do you distinguish yourself from market clutter? In existing market dynamics, how are you standing out? I am sure Ageas Federal Life Insurance (AFLI), led by Jude Gomes, spent weeks and months ideating on each of the above ahead of the brand relaunch on December 9, 2025. With Jude and his team, I was confident that preparation would be key. They…

Hyderabad was successful. So was Mumbai. Lionel Messi looked happy, and so did Luis Suarez and Rodrigo De Paul. This makes the contrast with Kolkata that much more stark. How could Telangana do it and not Kolkata? Why did we not follow the same template? The reason is fairly simple. Hyderabad was all about Messi. Kolkata was about everything else but Messi. In all honesty, it was a fairly simple event to execute, and yet it was complicated no end. When you have someone like Messi, all you needed to do was put him in an open-top jeep and get…

At RevSportz, we cover sports — sports in their entirety. There are many platforms in the country that masquerade as sports news platforms, but do not cover Olympic or Paralympic sports. Perhaps they don’t feel the need to. Perhaps they feel there isn’t adequate money beyond cricket to justify the return on investment. Whatever the case may be, they aren’t really sports news platforms. They are cricket news platforms, or more aptly, platforms that only cover spectacles. But that’s their call. And maybe that’s what prompted us to make a difference. The lacuna was glaring and the opportunity immense.…

As we come to terms with what was a disgrace yesterday, some questions need to be asked. Was there an SOP or a written protocol regarding who would be allowed on to the pitch? Was it followed? Did the organisers try to implement it, and if not, why? Why were there more than 200 people surrounding Lionel Messi every second when he was on the pitch? Why were the fans, who were all in the stands to watch Messi, not allowed to even have a glimpse of their hero? Who were these people, and how did they get there without…

It is a shame. Let us face it and accept it. The city has been shamed, and India, a nation aspiring to bid for the 2036 Olympics, has been left a laughing stock before the world. I watched the visuals in utter shock. Somehow, it always ends up being about the fans. And yet, from top to bottom, it was not. People had travelled from far and wide to be part of a spectacle. What they witnessed instead was a disaster of humongous proportions. At an event of this scale, there has to be protocol. There wasn’t. Only a handful…

Lionel Messi is in Kolkata. And so is Luis Suarez and others. There will be a lot of events around the tour, which will involve politicians and celebrities and corporates. But for me, the real deal is the fan. Corporates and HNI’s and even some from the media have had the privilege of watching Messi play in different parts of the world. Some will travel to the FIFA world cup 2026 as well. But for the mad Messi fans, who worship him on a daily basis and yet haven’t been able to consume him up front, this is their occasion.…

Shubman Gill and Suryakumar Yadav need to score, and do so immediately Fifteen matches at an average of 23, and the pressure is indeed mounting on Gill. Surya is in the same boat. India’s captain and vice-captain need runs and without any further delay. With the World Cup round the corner, clouds suddenly hang over two premier batters. If two of the top three don’t score consistently, how can things be right heading into the biggest tournament of all? With Jaiswal and Samson waiting in the wings, the murmurs will only grow louder if things don’t change in Dharamshala. Sport…

It was early February 2022, and Hardik Pandya was already up and running for the day by 5:30 am. He was all set to go out and train—part of a rigorous daily routine building up to the IPL. Pandya, by his own admission, needed a break after the 2021 T20 World Cup to recalibrate. His not bowling had become a major controversy, and to a degree, he had to shoulder the blame for India’s failure to progress past the group stages of the tournament in Dubai. He needed to redeem himself and set the record straight. He had to make…