Author: Rohan Chowdhury

The stakes were high as both teams aimed to keep their hopes alive in Euro 2024. Scotland were in a slightly better position, having drawn 1-1 against Switzerland following a devastating 1-5 defeat to Germany. Hungary, on the other hand, entered the match without a point, having lost 1-3 to Switzerland and 0-2 to Germany. This first competitive encounter between the two sides was one to remember, filled with immense drama for the fans in Stuttgart. Hungary had the final laugh, thanks to Kevin Csoboth’s 100th-minute strike, which eliminated Scotland just seconds before the end. Scotland began their crucial Group…

Balraj Panwar, hailing from the village of Kaimla in Haryana, has always been drawn to sports, but his journey into rowing began unexpectedly. “I joined the Indian Army in 2018 and was introduced to rowing there,” he said at a media interaction organised by the Sports Authority of India in conjunction with the Indian Olympic Association and the Rowing Federation of India on Thursday. “There are a lot of games (sports) in the Army, and when I joined, a rowing competition was going on. I participated and immediately got interested.” This newfound passion quickly transformed into a career, setting him…

The Republic of Serbia is making its debut in the European Championship under its current name. Previously, as Yugoslavia, they finished as runners-up in the 1960 and 1968 editions of the tournament. Despite having a formidable attacking lineup featuring Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic, Ajax fan favourite Dusan Tadic, and Al-Hilal duo Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Aleksandar Mitrovic, Serbia’s recent form has been lacklustre, with only four victories in their last 11 matches. When England manager Gareth Southgate announced the 26-member squad for the Euros, there was considerable discussion about the exclusion of several high-profile club football players, such as Manchester City…

“This is an important tournament and I’ll tell you why,” said Mihir Bose, the veteran journalist, when asked about how he sees the 17th edition of the European Football Championships, Euro 2024, being held in Germany. The tournament began with a bang as the hosts rattled five goals past Scotland in a statement of serious intent. Bose, who has authored multiple books on cricket and football in his long and celebrated journalism career with the BBC and others, shared his varied thoughts on the ongoing competition. Sport and politics often go hand in hand, and we have seen that…

Angry reactions from Indian football fans have taken over social media with multiple trending hashtags such as Robbery, Oil Money and Cheaters. It was a do-or-die encounter for Igor Stimac and his boys at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Qatar. With control over the game, the Blue Tigers maintained their narrow one-goal lead till the 73rd minute, when the controversial incident took place, which is sure to haunt every stakeholder of Indian football for years to come. The ball clearly rolled out for a corner as Gurpreet Singh Sandhu failed to gather a Yousef Aymen header. Hashemi Al-Hussain, the…

Sunil Chhetri, Indian football’s talisman in the 21st century, officially hung up his boots on June 6 in front of a roaring crowd of nearly 60,000 at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata. The goalless draw against Kuwait that night has set the stage for a do-or-die clash against Qatar for the Blue Tigers. This pivotal game marks the beginning of a new era for Indian football, as the team prepares to take the field without Chhetri for the first time in 19 years, outside of suspensions and injuries. It is now time to look beyond SC11. Gurpreet Singh Sandhu…

Oo lala lala lala lala laa, ooo India! The famous Team India fan chant could be heard from a distance from around 5pm, two hours prior to kick-off. It was indeed a big day for Indian football. Mixed emotions. Sunil Chhetri, the skipper and Indian football’s poster boy, was about to don the blue jersey for the last time. Also, the match held immense value as a win would have secured a spot in the third round of the FIFA 2026 World Cup Qualifiers, and guaranteed 10 matches against the big guns of Asian Football. Fans take over VYBK!! Maa…

Swapnil Kusale is one of India’s top candidates to get a call for the final list of shooters bound for Paris next month. Kusale hails from a modest family background in Maharashtra and enrolled in the Krida Prabhodini Scheme under the government of Maharashtra. That was how his sporting journey started. After training for six years in Nasik, he came to Pune to train under his current coach, Deepali Deshpande, and since then, he has been a regular in the Indian national shooting team. The 29-year-old shooter won a gold medal in the Hangzhou Asian Games in 50m 3-Position Rifle…

The Indian football team’s first training session in Kolkata was marked by intense warmup drills, shooting and crossing exercises, and the lively banter of Sunil Chhetri, who is set to play his final international game against Kuwait. Local fans cheered their East Bengal and Mohun Bagan heroes as the Blue Tigers prepared for the must-win fixture. After starting their camp in Bhubaneswar on May 11, the team moved to Kolkata on Wednesday. Coach Igor Stimac, Chhetri, and the players were greeted by reporters and enthusiastic supporters as they arrived. Stimac led a rigorous 40-minute warmup despite the humid conditions, showing…

Arjun Singh Cheema, the 23-year-old sport shooter from Mandi, Punjab, is on the verge of securing his Paris 2024 berth. He has finished second to his compatriot Sarabjot Singh in the men’s 10m air pistol event with 583 points, just falling short of 1 off the first spot. He was a part of the gold medal-winning team in the same event, in Hangzhou Asian Games. The shooting trials were full of ups and downs for the shooter from Punjab. In the Trials-1, he finished second with 580-16x points. With 575-12x, Cheena stood at the fifth spot after the Trials-2, in…