Author: Boria Majumdar

Victory in defeat. Yes, it sounds a cliché, but if there was ever truth to that saying, it could be found in Rani Rampal’s career. First things first, I would surely have attended her farewell and had even booked tickets to do so. Had the cyclone not happened, it was one event I’d have loved to be part of. And I had promised her the same when she had called three weeks ago to ask me to save the date. How will I remember Rani, and what’s her legacy? To answer this question, we need to go back to the…

You speak to people, and you understand how much tension has been brewing. After all, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) was supposed to have a Special General Meeting (SGM) on October 25, and the massive fissures within the organisation are all out in the open for the world to see. On Wednesday evening, a memo from the office of Kalyan Chaubey, the IOA’s joint secretary and acting CEO, announced that the SGM had been pushed back to November 10 because of ‘unavoidable circumstances’. The postponement changes little. Will the members rally behind PT Usha, the IOA president, or will they…

Glasgow has finally decided to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games (CWG). Also, the 10 sports that will make up the event have now been made public. Notable omissions are wrestling, cricket, squash, table tennis, badminton and hockey. The reasons given for the curtailment are escalating costs, and the desperation to make the Games viable and sustainable. While it is only fair that the organisers don’t want to host a mega event which eventually leaves a city with a huge debt burden, it is also clear that the CWG, as a movement, has completely lost relevance. This is an attempt to…

It was my first meeting with Chirag Shetty since the mixed-zone interaction after the quarterfinal loss in Paris. And the first thing that struck me was that Chirag had shed another couple of kilos. He looked unusually lean and was extremely quiet to start with. In fact, you wouldn’t even have known he was around. When we finally got a chance to catch up at some length, it seemed to me that Chirag was still trying to deal with the disappointment of Paris. He is still in mourning and hasn’t really been able to overcome the pain. “I am still…

Running gives us agency, and allows us to celebrate ourselves. Each one who ran the half-marathon in New Delhi is a star. For the last three days, I had the pleasure of hosting the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon in Delhi. It started with the fantastic “Beyond the Finish Line” on Friday, and ended with the Champions Dinner last night. Over 36,000 people took to the streets of Delhi on Sunday morning to make it a fantastic event, and I have to say the energy was palpable. Why is it that running is now a revolution in India? Why do we…

Rohit Sharma and India got it badly wrong on day 1 in Bengaluru. And that’s what sealed the deal. Yes, India did have a chance on day 3 at 400-3, but then it was always going to be near-impossible after the 46 all out. Batting first was the wrong call, and India now find themselves in a situation where they have to win the remaining two Tests to not just win the series, but also stay in control of the WTC rankings. What is interesting, however, is the reaction to India’s loss. Fans have not just started to question Rohit’s…

Rishabh Pant had just hit one of the most audacious shots that we will see in Test cricket. As the ball sailed over the gallery and outside the ground, the camera caught KL Rahul, the non-striker, up close. First, there was surprise. Did he really hit that shot? Rahul’s expression was fascinating. He just couldn’t believe what he had seen, and after a few seconds, he broke into a wry smile as if to say only Rishabh could have done that. He is extraordinary, and it was yet again evidence of his very special ability. Pant had gone into bat…

Sarfaraz Khan is one of a kind. He is unconventional and happily so. He is not the usual elite cricketer like Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma, and happily so. And yet, he is effective and happily so. Can he be as effective in Australia? Can those magic hands adjust to the faster wickets down under? The truth is we don’t know. What we do know is that he loves to defy odds and make a difference. Loves to embrace the occasion and put on a show. Most importantly, he isn’t overawed by failure and continues to back himself amidst adversity.…

It is the first Kolkata derby of this season’s Indian Super League (ISL) and, needless to say, passions are running high. With the controversy over Anwar Ali playing out in the background in the last few months, the game has an added layer of intensity to it. Fans of both clubs crave a win and anything to the contrary is unacceptable. For East Bengal, with four losses in the first four games, this is make-or-break territory. A loss could mean this season’ss ISL goes downhill and the pre-season positivity is lost. The club have already replaced a coach mid-season, and…

Two press releases arrived back to back. The first was issued at 3pm by JSW Sports, which announced Sourav Ganguly as their Director of Cricket, who will be heading all cricket for the JSW group. The second release came an hour later from the Delhi Capitals official handle, and announced Venugopal Rao and Hemang Badani as Director of Cricket and Head Coach respectively. The two pieces of paper tell us a story. That Ganguly continues to have the backing of Parth Jindal and JSW. Also that he doesn’t enjoy the backing of GMR, and hence has been pushed back for…