This story is from November 13, 2018 BENGALURU: "He (Prajnesh) told me that I owe him a lot of money," laughs Marco Trungelliti . Speaking here, the Argentine is relaxed on the couch as he chortles about this year's French Open. Prajnesh Gunneswaran was ahead of Trungelliti for a place in the French Open main draw, in the list of lucky losers, but left to play a Challenger in Italy not expecting such high number of pullouts from Roland Garros . And that is when Lady Luck smiled on the journey

This story is from February 13, 2019 A throw in. Less than 20 minutes on the clock in the match against NorthEast United FC. The ball is launched high in the air and into the box. Juanan flicks it on and, in a flash, Chencho Gyeltshen slips his marker and slides in the winner. A goal to mark his last outing in the blue of Bengaluru FC. The striker, who struggled for playing time since his switch to the Indian Super League side in the summer after leading an unfancied Minerva Punjab to the I-Lea

Nishu Kumar stood far away from the penalty box before tearing into a lung bursting run. In the box, Juanan and Harmanjot Khabra move outside, dragging a defender along, at the far post. Sunil Chhetri moved in. Erik Paartalu, central, and Albert Serran, at the near post, blocked their man as Nishu arrived in space in the box and rifled his effort into the back of the net. As he wheeled away in celebration of his goal, Chhetri trotted over to the bench, exchanging a quick celebratory high-five wi

Albert Serran takes a pause and looks around. His eyes staring into the swimming pool of his plush apartment complex as he mulls overs the question: his biggest takeaway from football. In a career which transverses continents, Serran has plied his trade in Spain, Wales, Cyprus, Albania, Morocco and ultimately India. He has risen through the ranks to play for his local team Espanyol in La Liga, helped promote Swansea City to the Premier League and, last year, won the Indian Super League with Ben

Maana Patel smiles as she recollects the nine years she's spent in competitive swimming. "It's been a bit up and down since I've made my comeback," says the swimmer from Gujarat. The 19-year-old was speaking after securing one gold and one silver in the Asian Age Group Swimming Championship here in Bengaluru. "I was hoping to go 1:03 late. I did a 29 in 50m back and was really confident. But I died in the last 10m. But I was faster than in Bhopal (Senior Nationals)," she says spotting the silv

Tan Sri Dato' Haji Hassan Yunos Stadium. It's the home of Johor Darul Ta'zim, former AFC Cup champions and six-time winners of the Malaysia Super League. Some 7,059 km away in Bengaluru, more specifically at Bengaluru FC, that stadium is known as 'Lyngdoh's ground'. It's the ground where Eugeneson Lyngdoh struck straight from the corner in the last minute to force the game to extra time during the AFC Champions League playoff. He would come back, a year later in 2016, to smash in a thunderous s

"There were no animals or vegetation. It was high altitude. So just pure earth for miles and miles across 360 degrees," recalls Gaurav Gill, his voice betraying a multitude of emotions felt at that surreal sight. India's premier rally driver was speaking of the time in 2016 when he got a puncture while driving through the Gobi Desert in Mongolia, one of his many excursions rallying around the world. "Later on, the cars came behind us, we had been the first one out. But for that few minutes, I

Hamza Auta Abdullahi stands surrounded by laughter near the away dressing room, tucked in a corner at the Bangalore Football Stadium. The Lonestar Kashmir player had just finished his Second Division League game and his friends had come down to watch him play. “Staying in Goa was lovely. But I prefer Bangalore,” says the footballer from Nigeria, taking the city’s former name. “I’ve a house here and wherever I go, wherever I play, I come back to Bangalore. It’s always been my home.” Hamza has b

The build-up to the league title and microscopic focus on the team and himself have been building through the week. It has been a tough week for Robert Royte, the owner of Aizawl FC. The build-up to the league title and microscopic focus on the team and himself have been building through the week. For a man who has seldom been in such limelight despite all the good work he has done for Mizoram football and resurrecting Aizawl FC, it was a stamp of validation. There were some heart in the mouth

A silent revolutionary evolving just under the radar of the ever changing landscape of music. Original is perhaps the only all encompassing term that defines Steven Wilson. Since making his way into the music industry as a teenager in the eighties, the British musician has gone about building a legacy for himself. Riding below the radar during the grunge movement and alternative rock of the 90s and early 2000s, Wilson emerged to fore, armed with his progressive and psychedelic rock influences

Bengaluru: She remembers it like it was just yesterday. The brutal side of sport, often overlooked in the public’s sentiments leaving the athlete in frustration, was on display that day when Vinesh Phogat twisted her knee awkwardly in the quarterfinal bout at the Rio Olympics. The Indian wrestler, hailing from the renowned Phogat-clan, was trailing 1-2 against China’s Sun Yanan in the first quarter when her attempt to get out of her opponent’s grasp ended in disaster.There was only one thought