Author: Boria Majumdar

Boria Majumdar in Paris India make back-to-back podiums in the Olympic Games and PR Sreejesh finishes with a medal. That’s the story. No one deserves it more than Sreejesh and after 20 years, we will no longer see him in India colours going forward. But before that, he made sure that his house was protected and he has given us the coveted Olympic medal once more. Sreejesh had entered the pitch alone an hour ahead of the game and even went to the goalpost to have a silent word. It was as if he was wanting to say a final…

Boria Majumdar in Paris It was 2:30am in Paris, and I had fallen asleep. It had been one of the hardest days of my three-decade-long sports media career, and I just wanted it to end. Normally, I sleep by around midnight, and this was no different. I don’t know why, but around 2:30am, the phone pinged. Seeing that the message was from my sister in the US, I decided to check it. And my mind went numb. ‘Vinesh has retired’ was all she had written. I just couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I went back to her tweet, and…

Boria Majumdar If Vinesh Phogat is a catastrophe, Antim Panghal is a smaller bump for sure. Each one of us had pegged her as a possible Olympic medallist,even more so after the draw was announced. However, she did not even survive a minute and a half against a relatively unfancied opponent and lost 0-10. Her opponent lost in the very next round, proving that it was Antim who was nowhere near her potential. Sources say that Antimjust about managed to make the 53kg weight limit. If Vinesh fell short by a 100 grams, Antim just about made it. But in…

Boria Majumdar in Paris ‘Her career is over,’ whispered the stretcher-bearer. Just minutes before, Vinesh Phogat had been leading in her 2016 Olympic quarter-final match against her Chinese opponent, Sun Yanan, in the 48kg category. Now, she was screaming while being carried away from the mat on a stretcher. It was around 11 am in Rio on August 16, 2016. Vinesh had started the bout well, having won her pre-quarter-final earlier in the day fairly convincingly. Many had tipped her to break India’s medal jinx at the 2016 Olympics, and it was no surprise that the entire Indian media contingent…

Boria Majumdar in Paris Dear Prakash Sir, As it is for millions of Indians, you are also my hero. And I make no qualms about it. In our many interviews, I have repeatedly expressed my appreciation for you. And that won’t change. But let’s agree to disagree, Sir, on a few things you mentioned yesterday. When we were walking out together, I asked you: “What went wrong with Lakshya?” And you said something, which both G Rajaraman – India’s media attache – and I agreed was right, but I won’t mention it here. Then, once outside and speaking to the…

Boria Majumdar in Paris He had just saved the fourth shoot-out attempt from Great Britain, and it was a spectacular effort to say the least. Just then, his reaction said it all. Half-crouched on the turf, PR Sreejesh was roaring. And with him, India. He knew his last dance had turned memorable, and the emotion had all come out. He isn’t, however, done yet. Sreejesh, we all know, wants to better Tokyo. He has said it time and again to us in multiple interviews. And now, he is a step away. Germany, who India beat to win the bronze medal…

Boria Majumdar in Paris She has 40 medals at the Olympics and World Championships, of which an astonishing 30 are gold. No, we aren’t making these numbers up. We are just speaking about Simone Biles. An extraordinary athlete at her imperious best here in Paris, and she isn’t done yet. Three of her seven Olympic gold medals have been won here, and with two events still left, Biles is easily the athlete of these games alongside France’s Leon Marchand. And then, when you recall that she had almost given up in Tokyo and withdrawn from a host of events, you…

Boria Majumdar in Paris India has traditionally been known to mess up on the finer points related to athletes’ comfort and well-being at the Olympic Games. Vinesh Phogat crying out in pain in Rio, in the absence of a proper medical team, was a grim reminder. Not so in Paris. The presence of Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala has made a real difference in that regard. What is also as important is the conscious effort to ensure athletes’ comfort. At the insistence of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and the Sports Ministry, 40 portable air conditioners were delivered to the Indian contingent…

Boria Majumdar in Paris “It doesn’t matter how you are playing the whole year, but when it’s the Olympics, you need to peak in that particular week,” said Prakash Padukone ahead of Lakshya Sen’s badminton men’s singles quarterfinal against Chou Tien-chen. True to those words, Lakshya played some incredible badminton to advance into the semi-finals. He seems to have peaked at just the right time. Soon after the match, Sen, who seemed in a hurry to go and watch the other quarterfinal, said: “I don’t mind whoever I play. I will watch the match and strategise with my team. I…

Boria Majumdar in Paris Lakshya Sen versus HS Prannoy had just ended, and it was a no-contest. Lakshya, riding on some stellar form and some fantastic shots, won the match easily against his senior rival and made it to the quarterfinals. Prannoy, batting physical and mental fatigue, had expectedly lost and his Olympic dreams were over. For the few Indian journalists who were there in the mixed zone, it was a routine interaction. Lakshya said he would try everything to be at his best for the quarterfinal, while Prannoy had come because there is a compulsion to do so. Every…