To describe his comeback innings at Potchefstroom in South Africa yesterday in one word, it’s ‘fabulous’. He has fought against all odds, and there is no doubt he has that steely resolve which very few people have. At least none in the present Indian cricket team has that. 2 persons who readily come to mind […]
Whither Doha
Leaving cricket aside, competitive sports have no place in Indian psyche. Thus while every newspaper worth its salt has a rep in South Africa to cover the cricket, only a few, I suspect, has cared to spare someone for 15th Asian Games at Doha. Not that it matters much, for India doesn’t have many medal-winning […]
Mehtab shows the way
For one, he works in ONGC, arguably the biggest Indian company. Among all public sector companies, ONGCs’ is a prized employment. It also sponsors the prestigious National football League (NFL) organized by All India Football Federation (AIFF), which is the annual team-level football tournament in India. For another, professional career for sportspeople is almost non-existent […]
Will Imran marry?
I admire Imran Khan. I admire him not only because he is handsome, which he is even at his 54 years, but also because he stands for a mysterious charm that one finds missing in many celebrities. Imran captained Pakistan’s cricket team when it won the ICC world cup in 1992. Later, when he married […]
Missing rail link
Compare Dum Dum airport’s rail link to Dum Dum Junction station with Heathrow Express line’s non-stop service between London’s Heathrow airport and Paddington station. Okay okay, that’s too much to digest, I agree. Compare then Dum Dum’s rail link with that between Chennai’s airport’s suburban rail-station at Tirusulam and Egmore. What do we see? We […]
Sudhir Karmakar
Last Sunday, when Sudhir Karmakar played his benefit match in East Bengal ground, the gallery was half-full. Reminiscing his golden days of 70s, he couldn’t help but exclaim, in our days galleries used to always spill over to see football. That was indeed the case as I used to be one of those thronging the […]
East Bengal wins CFL
31st CFL (Calcutta Football League) title notwithstanding, East Bengal’s win is not without blemishes. This is perhaps the first such win despite loosing twice to Mohun Bagan and once to Mohamedan Sporting. Even the the most ardent fan will admit that the team is not cohesive, and having a Brazilian coach hasn’t helped much. Yet […]
Not a single petal of flower..
Forget funds, we have not even seen a single petal of a flower, so says Premjit Sen, the Salt Lake (Kolkata) based karate trainer. Premjit just returns from ISKA European Cup at Stuttgart, Germany, where his little trainees have won 9 golds, 8 silvers and 13 bronzes to occupy the 2nd spot in medals tally. […]
Rahul, please don’t mind
Guess who called me last evening. It was Rahul Dravid, the Team India captain. Oh, what a thrill it was to be called by him! You envy? Okay okay, it was Hutch’s trick. But Rahul Dravid it was indeed and I raptly listened to his endearing voice. Alas, I couldn’t keep his request to stay […]
Football ties with Brazil
Talk of games, and India shies off. A Leander here, a Rathore there, that’s all. The mainstream media is so obsessed with cricket that it defies any kind of decent logic. I still remember a misty-eyed TV commentator (of erstwhile Star-NDTV), moved on the verge of tears while reporting on Sachin Tendulkar’s ‘unbelievable greatness’ in […]