Author: Boria Majumdar

Boria Majumdar Adille Sumariwalla, Vice-president of the World Athletics, was India’s champion sprinter for many years, representing the country at the Moscow Olympics in 1980. Now, a new generation of sprinters is rewriting India’s athletics narrative and track-and-field events are no longer just about Neeraj Chopra. After a 24-medal haul at the Asian Athletics Championships in South Korea, Sumariwalla spoke exclusively to Boria Majumdar, RevSportz editor-in-chief. Boria: 24 medals, coming second. Your first thoughts? Adille Sumariwalla: Thank you for having me on the show and the kind introduction. I think our athletes have done well. The way I had looked…

In matters of food, team RevSportz is like the majority of our countrymen. Even when we are far from Indian shores, we tend to crave the traditional Indian spices that spruce up our food. The experience was no different in Sydney. Soon after reaching Sydney for the New Year Test, we’d inevitably go to Masala Theory to munch on some curry bombs. Coming to Manchester, it would inevitably be Ziya Asian Grill, one of my personal favourites. One of my last visits to Ziya was on the fateful evening of that 2019 World Cup loss to New Zealand. After…

Boria Majumdar A lot of people reacted to my column from yesterday and asked what was the point of doing a celebration on this scale? Why should there be a victory parade in the first place? What’s the need? Why put lives in danger? Victory parades are a reality around the world. Every major win is celebrated with one. Never has the parade been an issue. Rather, the issue was the under-preparedness. The issue was the lack of coordination and the lack of effective administrative implementation. Even Mumbai hosted a parade last July after India’s T20 World Cup win. And…

It was meant to be a celebration. In reality, it turned out to be a tragedy. And yet, things will soon be alright and we will all move on. There is little value for human life in India, and none of the fans who lost their lives will move a mountain. This is the real tragedy. This is the core issue. That we don’t value human lives. As for our political class, a caveat is necessary here. I don’t belong to any particular political party, and that’s well known. So, no Congress or BJP or TMC here, please. The truth…

Boria Majumdar Virat Kohli is finally an IPL champion. For 18 long years, the Pied Piper of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) has waited for his moment. He has given it his all time and again, and come close on several occasions. For almost every cricket fan, Kohli with the IPL trophy is a picture-postcard moment. Much like Sachin Tendulkar having to wait 22 years for the World Cup, Kohli, the protégé, waited 18 long years for this moment. Finally, the wait is over, and how. Kohli wasn’t the star of the final. Rather, he had played a fairly sedate innings.…

In the IPL auction last December, Krunal Pandya was a talking point. As the paddle kept going up for him, many started questioning the prudence behind it. Isn’t he a spent force? What was his contribution at Lucknow Super Giants? As captain of LSG, he was underwhelming and that was one of the reasons they released him without batting an eyelid. Yet, RCB kept going and eventually got him for a handy 5 crores. Krunal, despite all his efforts, has always been the less-talked about of the two brothers. Hardik is more successful and flamboyant, and Krunal, despite his periodic…

Shreyas Iyer is all set to lead Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the final of IPL 2025 today, 3 June, against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in Ahmedabad. Last year, he captained Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to the title. Now, with his new franchise, he has the chance to claim back-to-back IPL crowns. Not just as a captain, but also as a batter, he has led from the front. In 16 matches, he has already scored 603 runs, including six fifties. In Qualifier 2, he played a superb unbeaten knock to guide his team to a successful chase in Ahmedabad against the…

The IPL will have a new champion tomorrow. And it is fitting that the top-two teams have made the final. They have indeed been the most consistent, and perhaps also the most deserving. Shreyas Iyer has turned a new leaf with his captaincy and his batting, and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), as a unit, have outperformed almost every opponent. Pressure. That’s what will decide the IPL from here on. Which team and management deals with pressure better? Who wants it more? Who can keep calm? Each team has men of quality and the line between error and a superhuman effort…

Animesh Kujur won a bronze in the 200m dash at the Asian Athletics Championships on Saturday, yet again highlighting the progress in Indian sprinting over the last year or so. Could we see a sub-10-second Indian finish in the next few years? Will we see some fantastic performances at the Asian Games, and can these runners realistically start to think of making the finals at LA 28 – in the 4×100 relay, for example? These were the questions I asked James Hillier, Athletics Director at the Reliance Foundation, as he was about to leave for the airport in South Korea. …

It was just days after he suffered a debilitating shoulder injury that I had a chat with Shreyas. He was in pain but the resolve had not gone away one bit. While he was still unsure if he needed surgery, his focus was very much on the comeback. He wanted the big stage for himself and was determined to make a mark. That he had to undergo surgery and miss cricket for months made him even more determined. It was the same determination that was on show tonight against the Mumbai Indians (MI) as he led Punjab to the IPL…