Vaibhav Raghunandan : All

Vaibhav Raghunandan
MC Mary Kom vs Nikhat Zareen: The Bout Indian Boxing Needs But May Not Get
18 Oct 2019
Nikhat Zareen, who has appealed to the sports minister to get a chance to fight MC Mary Kom and earn the right to represent the country in the Olympic qualifier tournament next year, is not the first…
Vaibhav Raghunandan
Peerless in Kolkata: How a Small, Hungry Football Club Snatched Bragging Rights From the Big Two
07 Oct 2019
Jahar Das, the coach of Peerless SC who won the 2019 Calcutta Football League, talks about the four pillars that helped them to the title, beating Mohun Bagan and East Bengal en route.
Vaibhav Raghunandan
Durand Cup Despatch: Fogged Up Vision for a Goal Flourish by a ‘Poor, Middle-Class Club’
12 Aug 2019
Mohammedan Sporting beat Indian Navy 6-2 in a rain-drenched Durand Cup match, even as fans lamented the legacy club’s weak state of affairs and the facade it is forced to carry thanks to its rich…
Vaibhav Raghunandan
Durand Cup Despatch: Slush Hour Dates With the Big Three of Kolkata
09 Aug 2019
Durand Cup Despatch: East Bengal bring the Spanish sizzle. Mohammedan Sporting regress to rainy day puddles. Mohun Bagan grumble, stumble, almost crumble all the while admonishing their opponents'…
Vaibhav Raghunandan
Surface Tension in Kolkata: The Pain of Football in the Rain
07 Aug 2019
There is no greater crime than the inability to offer a decent playing surface for professionals to play football on… Bumpy, patchy and slippery are the norm on East Bengal’s pitch, while Mohammedan…
Vaibhav Raghunandan
Durand Cup Despatch: Lunch at Mohammedan Sporting, Dessert with East Bengal
05 Aug 2019
2019 Durand Cup: There is a reason Kolkata is called the spiritual home of Indian football. A football game here is like Shravaan for the Kanwars. The crazy, the lazy, the truly and the funny all…
Vaibhav Raghunandan
129th Durand Cup: Mohun Bagan Beat Mohammedan Sporting; East Bengal Need Late Push to Get Past Army Red
03 Aug 2019
Kolkata’s Big Three were in action in the first two days of the 2019 Durand Cup. Salva Chamorro scored twice, early in the game as Mohun Bagan beat Mohammedan Sporting 2-0 in the opener on July 2.…
Vaibhav Raghunandan
East Bengal Centenary: Euphoric Celebration of the Past Even As Crisis Looms Ahead
02 Aug 2019
With the deal with main sponsors Quess in a limbo, and uncertainty over Indian football’s domestic structure (the I-League vs ISL issue), East Bengal’s centenary celebration seemed an aberration. But…
Vaibhav Raghunandan
International Cricket Establishment’s Anti Expansion Drive, An Inside Story
14 Jul 2019
Even as the grande finale of the ICC World Cup 2019, England vs New Zealand clash, is played out at Lord’s, criticism of the 10-team tournament, with zero Associate nations is raging. It seems – at…
Vaibhav Raghunandan
That ’90s Show at Old Trafford: New Zealand Beat India to Enter World Cup Final
10 Jul 2019
Indian cricket team’s loss to New Zealand in the semifinal of the ICC World Cup 2019 had all the elements of a classic match from the previous century — from rain to an Indian collapse and everything…