Author: S Kannan

The Indians diaspora celebrated in their own quiet way Team India beating Pakistan against all odds in a big match of the ICC T20 World Cup at the Nassau County Stadium on the outskirts of New York. Obviously, given the small size of the stadium and the exorbitant cost of tickets, most fans from East coast to West were happy to watch the match on television. “Our emotions are always with Team India, so when the team won, it was joy for us,” said Ragu, who has been living on the outskirts of Washington DC for over 40 years. He…

Carlos Alcaraz was on the prowl. Watching the 21-year-old Spanish star at Roland Garros evoked many comparisons. At the end of tennis’s marathon, so to say, spread over five sets, Alcaraz had outlasted the in-form Alexander Zverev to win the French Open crown. ‘Carlitos’, as fans love to call him, was two sets to one down and facing defeat. These are the moments which test everything in a player – technique and temperament. Alcaraz showed why he is the next big thing as he triumphed with a flourish – the 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 result proof of his superstar…

One legacy was destroyed at the start of the French Open and another one created on Saturday as Iga Swiatek showed ruthless form to rip apart Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-1 to win her third title in a row on the red clay at the Court Suzanne Lenglen in the women’s singles final. When Rafael Nadal, the winner of 14 French Open titles was bounced out of the season’s second Grand Slam on the first Monday, there was anguish. At these Majors, as the Grand Slams are known, romantic relics and those who have created a strong connect with fans are…

On Sunday, the world’s focus will be on India. From New Delhi to New York, people who love India and hate it will be keeping an eye on two major developments. The first, of course, will be Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his NDA Cabinet being sworn in for a fresh Lok Sabha term after a pitched electoral battle. That will be followed at 8pm India time by India vs Pakistan in the ICC T20 World Cup, a contest that always grabs eyeballs. Indeed, the build-up has been shrill, while Pakistan being outplayed in a Super Over by the United…

This was the tennis version of the Headbanger’s Ball in the truest sense, as Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner belted out heavy artillery stuff on the show courts of Roland Garros. After nearly four hours of belting, pounding and killing the tennis ball, the Spaniard won in five sets to set up a clash with Alexander Zverev. There have been riveting contests in tennis in the past, but Alcaraz versus Sinner, the current world No.1, was gripping. In the end, Alcaraz, who has been projected as successor to Rafael Nadal and a few other players, pulled of a brilliant win…

It’s celebration time for USA cricket, and why not? For the team to shock Pakistan in a Super Over on Thursday was the mother, father and uncle of all upsets. There has been enough negativity about the US as hosts, since they are not a “cricketing nation”. People questioned the point of taking the World Cup to a country where the NBA, NFL, NHL and NAACAR dominate the sporting consciousness. There is every reason to now congratulate the world body – the ICC – for staging the World Cup in a region where cricket is supposed to be non-existent. T20…

Like a hailstorm whistling through the woods to leave behind its trail of destruction, unknown and unsung Italian Jasmine Paolini demolished Russia’s Mirra Andreeva 6-3, 6-1 in the semi-finals for a final date with Iga Swiatek at the French Open. On Thursday evening at Roland Garros, the focus was on two relatively unknown tennis players who have taken the French Open 2024 by storm. At a time when the attention has been on Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina and Coco Gauff, Paolini versus Andreeva mirrored two combatants who were ready to play bold and beautiful tennis. Mirra had pulled off…

Like a whiff of fresh air, Mirra Andreeva, just 17, showed there is a champion streak in her as well. At the Court Philippe-Chatrier, on Wednesday evening, the Russian came out firing from the trenches as she outslugged second seed Aryna Sabalenka 6-7 (5/7), 6-4, 6-4 in two hours and 29 minutes to enter the semi-finals of the French Open. Teen prodigy, callow youth, what does one make of Mirra, the Russian who showed what it means to compete at a very high intensity on the big stage. Nobody wins matches against Sabalenka easily. The defending Australian Open champion is…

Rishabh Pant is a born fighter, everyone knows that. Yet, what the Delhi-born wicket-keeper came up with against Ireland on Wednesday at the dirt-track type drop-in pitch at the Nassau County Stadium, was sensational. There has been plenty of chatter around Pant for years. He is indeed blessed, a term which now sticks to him even more, after his miraculous recovery from a major car accident in December 2022 near Roorkee. To come out of that high-speed car accident, undergo three reconstruction ligament surgeries on his right knee and bounce back has been defining. If people say there is a…

There is anguish and a palpable sense of outrage over what the French Open has done to Novak Djokovic – forced to withdraw from the premier clay-court Grand Slam at Roland Garros, and thus had over his World No. 1 ranking to Jannik Sinner, the Italian. Injuries are part and parcel of the game in any athlete’s career. That the super-fit Djokovic – or Djoker – had to undergo harassment, pain and ignominy was partly the creation of Amelie Mauresmo, the French Open tournament director, Wayne McEwen and a group which appears to dislike the Serbian. Of course, the immediate…