Author: Gargi Raut

Badminton’s 2025 French Open, a Super 750 tournament, begins today at the Glaz Arena in Paris, the ‘City of Love’. All eyes will be on India’s favourite badminton duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty. The two have made a striking comeback after their Paris Olympics heartbreak followed by a year of injury struggles. As they stepped back into rhythm, their recent performances saw them climb back to the Top 10 in the world rankings after they reached the finals of the Hong Kong Masters, China Masters and also bagged a World Championship bronze. The World No. 6 duo also…

Gargi Raut There is a reason why every visiting team to Australia is welcomed at the Perth Stadium for the first match. The wicket in Perth offers one of the toughest conditions to bat on; it offers tailor-made assistance to the fast bowlers with a fast and bouncy track. This very factor led to a top-order collapse of the Indian Team in the first ODI. Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill lost their wickets early in the innings, thanks to the Perth wicket and the steaming Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood. Failing to adapt to the bounce and coupled…

Four days might not seem like a significant amount of time, but that’s all it took for a 12-year-old Arohi Ganesh Aware to gather her strength and step back on to the wrestling mat. Four days after losing her father, the man who had dreamt of seeing Arohi win the Olympics gold for India in wrestling. Arohi, who resides in the remote village of Revadi, a few kilometres away from Satara in Maharashtra, is the first female wrestler of her village. A place where her father dared to dream. To him, wrestling was a promise that his daughter would grow…

The new age of social media means access to information like never before. Especially when it comes to celebrities and those in the public eye. Everyone is free to express their opinions with few consequences, even if those are abusive and vile. While social media has minimised the distance between a celebrity and a fan, it has also blurred the boundaries between opinion and abuse. The cricket world has recently seen a barrage of abuse aimed at Harshit Rana and Pratika Rawal. The two Indian cricketers have been at the receiving end of extreme online hate and trolling. Harshit’s crime…

The second Test between India and West Indies at the Arun Jaitley Stadium turned out to be a real ‘Test’ of patience for the hosts and the fans alike. On a Tuesday afternoon, under the hot Delhi sun, the match finally came to an end as KL Rahul hit the winning runs. India, the far superior side in the series, faced a gritty fightback from the Windies as multiple partnerships flourished. Later, the Indian batters took their sweet time to chase the 121-run target. On the morning of Day 5, Sai Sudarshan and KL Rahul took the crease with 58…

Gargi Raut in New Delhi As West Indies led a fightback on Day 4 of the final Test at Arun Jaitley Stadium, only close to 4,000 fans thought it was worth their time to watch the match in-stadia. On Monday morning, as the people of the capital rushed to their offices and the buzz of central Delhi echoed outside of the stadium, John Campbell 115 (199) and Shai Hope 103 (214) gave their team a reason to finish the series with their heads held high. Campbell who had been at the crease for 273 minutes since yesterday, speaking to the…

Gargi Raut in New Delhi It was a day to remember for the West Indies batting line-up as both John Campbell 115 (199) and Shai Hope 103 (214) registered their centuries. In the post-stumps press conference on Sunday, Campbell had answered the media’s questions and said “the match is still on” and that the West Indies were still optimistic. The optimism proved to be the game-changer for the visitors as Campbell and Hope continued their fightback after returning to the crease this morning. The duo continued their partnership for the first hour of the day and stitched an association of…

Gargi Raut in Delhi A cricket match on a Sunday usually means packed stands and a carnival. But the same can’t be said of Day 3 of the final Test match between India and the West Indies. As Delhi enters the winter season and with days becoming pleasant, the people of the capital decided to spend their Sunday in ways that does not involve much cricket. While the many recreational parks saw young and old alike having a game of cricket early in the morning, as is the weekend ritual in the city, the Indian cricket team was left playing…

Gargi Raut in Delhi With around 15,000 people in attendance at Kotla on Sunday, the West Indies batting line-up crumbled once again as India enforced the follow-on. The batters were undone by the spin duo Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav. The left-arm wrist-spinner took 3 wickets in the first session, which contributed to India securing a 270-run first innings lead when the West Indies were asked to bat again. Kuldeep removed Sai Hope, Tevin Imlach and Justin Greaves as a collapse ensued. There was a moment of resistance from from Khary Pierre and Anderson Phillip, and right before lunch, the…

Gargi Raut in Delhi Another day in the two-match series between India and West Indies and another day of domination by the hosts! India cruised through the second day of the final Test at Arun Jaitley Stadium as Yashasvi Jaiswal, skipper Shubman Gill and Ravindra Jadeja stood out with their performances. West Indies struggled to contain the Indian batters once again. They then failed to make a dent with their batting. Looking back at the first session, Gill and Jaiswal continued their onslaught. The duo looked in complete control as Jaiswal inched towards a double century. But their partnership came…