Table tennis made its Olympic debut at the 1988 Seoul Games. Kamlesh Mehta, Sujay Ghorpade and Niyati Roy represented India in TT in Seoul. In the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, Kamlesh scripted a famous win over China’s Lu Lin. He then went to the 2004 Olympics in Athens as a coach of the team and in 2024, he is the General Secretary of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI). In a free-wheeling chat with Amol Karhadkar, Sports Journalist, The Hindu, Kamlesh shares the memories of the 1988...

India's Olympic contingent took a giant leap in Tokyo, returning home with a record tally of seven medals, including Neeraj Chopra's gold medal. Come 2024 and the Indian sporting arena is eyeing its first-ever double-digit medal haul. Can the hope turn into reality? Who are India's favourite medal contenders and what should we realistically expect in Paris? Independent journalists Abhijit Deshmukh and Abhijeet Kulkarni join The Hindu’s deputy editor Amol Karhadkar for a special Weekly Katta...

 He will always be remembered as 'Sachin Tendulkar's coach' but to countless cricketers in Mumbai, Ramakant Achrekar was a guiding light - a Guru in its truest sense. It reflects in the fact that Achrekar - honoured with the Dronacharya Award - produced a dozen Test cricketers and dozens of first-class cricketers. Amol Muzumdar - one of his most prominent disciples - celebrates Guru Pournima by sharing memories of his beloved Guru  'सचिन तेंडुलकरचे प्रशिक्षक' म्हणून ते कायम स्मरणात राहतील,...

When India made it to the World Test Championship final in 2023, he was the bowling coach. When India suffered the heartbreak at Motera in the ODI 2023, he was the bowling. And when Rohit Sharma finally lifted the T20 World Cup, he was again the bowling coach. Paras Mhambrey - the former Mumbai captain and Test cricketer - looks back on his fulfilling journey as India's bowling coach in a candid conversation with Amol Karhadkar, The Hindu's sports journalist. २०२३ मध्ये जेव्हा भारताने वर्ल्ड...

Spain were the best team at Euro 2024 and they rightly won the tournament, beating England 2-1 in the final.  Two youngsters - Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams - had a breakout tournament in Germany. England, clearly out of form, managed to reach the Euro final for the second consecutive time. But like in 2021, they failed to cross the final hurdle. Who were the stand out performers of Euro and who failed to live up to the expectations? Across Atlantic, Lionel Messi and Argentina edged past...

Abhinav Bindra and Anjali Bhagwat are the first names that come to mind when one thinks about shooting as a sport in India. In the early 2000s, Anjali dominated the sport and was the World Champion, having taken up the sport only during her NCC (National Cadet Corps). Her journey was far from beig easy. In the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Anjali reached Australia to compete but her ammunition did not get to Sydney due to bureaucratic issues. She also sheds light on why Abhinav Bindra deserved to win...

Dr Saleel Kulkarni is a versatile artiste - singer, music composer, writer, lyricist, director, to name a few. But he is a passionate cricket lover at heart. His fascinating tales about love for cricket include chanting 'Sachiiiiiin-Sachin' during Australia vs West Indies World Cup game and his endless cricket conversations with the late Lata Mangeshkar. Besides being an ardent follower, he is also involved in the sport as a father of his cricketer daughter. Dr Saleel Kulkarni opens up about...

Eleven years of prolonged wait for an ICC trophy was over on a Super Saturday in Barbados with India regaining the T20 World Cup with a nail-biting win against South Africa. The final definitely lived up to its billing and India staged multiple comebacks to script a historic win. Not only did it result in a fitting farewell for Rahul Dravid on his last day as India's head coach but also saw captain Rohit Sharma and veteran Virat Kohli retire from T20Is. Let's celebrate India's astounding win...

Two lopsides semifinals. Two clinical displays by the most consistent outfits in the 2024 T20 World Cup. While dissecting India and South Africa's convincing wins in the semifinals against Afghanistan and England, respectively, Aditya Joshi and Amol Karhadkar, The Hindu's Deputy Editor, look forward to a tantalising final on June 29

Ratnagiri Jets defended their MPL 2023 title in style. But what is the secret recipe behind Azim Kazi and his team's success? Maharashtra Cricket Association successfully conducted the Maharashtra Premier League for the second consecutive year and they deserve credit for that. The MCA can take a lot of positives from the tournament but certain areas will need working on. Who makes Sports Katta's team of the tournament? Amol Gokhale reviews the MPL 2024 on Weekly Katta... अझीम काझीच्या...

She may have started playing gully cricket in the bylanes of Pune when she was eight years old but only discovered girls could play leather-ball cricket only after turning 18. Not only did she represent India as an allrounder but Devieka Palshikar has also emerged as one of the prominent women's cricket coaches in India. A bespectacled Devieka narrates her journey in a freewheeling chat with Amol Gokhale on "Kattyawarchya Gappa"   तिने आठव्या वर्षी टेनिस बॉलवर गल्ली क्रिकेट खेळायला सुरुवात...

Team India handed their arch-rivals Pakistan their second successive defeat of the 2024 T20 World Cup on Sunday night. That leaves the 2022 World Cup finalists on the brink of early exit from the mega event in the USA and West Indies. The defending champions England too face the similar fate after Scotland thrashed Oman. Will see see both finalists of the 2022 T20 World Cup make at early exit? Halfway through the league stage, Aditya Joshi and Amol Karhadkar, The Hindu's sports journalist,...

It's India vs Pakistan! Again! But is there enough buzz around the mother of all cricket rivalries returning after seven months? Or is it going to be a no-contest, considering an in-form India pitted against Pakistan, who lost to minnows USA earlier in the week. Will the T20 World Cup match in New York live up to its billing? Or will the lopsided conditions on a drop-down pitch emerge as the decisive factor? Will Virat Kohli be the king yet again or will Rishabh Pant at No 3 turn out to be...

Siddharth Mhatre is naturally right-handed. His father is a big Brian Lara fan. So, when Siddharth started batting at 3, his father taught him how to bat left-handed. Now he is an elegant south-paw batter. Similarly, he is naturally an off-spinner. But one day when there were no left-arm spinners in his college nets, he tried his hand at bowling left-arm spin and bowled fairly well. Seeing his accuracy, his coach encouraged him to bowl left-arm spin. Today, looking at the batter in front,...

The United States of America and the West Indies are the co-hosts of the 2024 T20 World Cup. The USA will host only eight games out of 43 in this World Cup, but one can feel that the entire tournament is happening in the States. However, cricket needs the USA more than the other way around. What financial windfall will cricket see with those eight games and how do they compare to other ‘American sports?’ What does this event mean with Los Angeles set to host the 2028 Olympics, which will see...

And just like that IPL 2024 is over. What are the highlights of this IPL? Who is the find of the tournament and who has failed miserably? Who makes it to the team of the tournament and who misses out. Let's discuss all the talking points

It may be touted as the big bucks battle, read Rs 20.50 crore vs Rs 24.75 crore. But more than Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc, the IPL 2024 final between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders - a repeat of top two teams yet again clashing twice in IPL Playoffs - will possibly be decided on the tactics employed by the captains. Will Shreyas Iyer lift his first IPL trophy? Or will Pat Cummins lift his second coveted title on Indian soil in six months? Let's preview the IPL 2024 final,...

रॉयल चॅलेंजर्स बेंगळुरूची घोडदौड चालू राहिल उर्वरित चार सामन्यांमध्ये? कोण रोखेल कोलकाता नाईट रायडर्सचा विजयी वारू? सनरायझर्स हैदराबाद करेल २००९ ची पुनरावृत्ती? राजस्थान रॉयल्सची होणार का एलिमिनेटर मध्येच सुट्टी? IPL प्लेऑफ्स विशेष 'वीकली कट्टा' मध्ये मारत आहेत गप्पा अमोल गोखले, आदित्य जोशी व 'द हिंदू' वृत्तसमूहाचा क्रीडा पत्रकार अमोल कऱ्हाडकर               Can Royal Challengers Bengaluru continue its juggernaut for three more games? Can anybody pull the plug on Kolkata Knight Riders' winning...

  Pratik Athavale would refuse to go to bed as a kid because he always wanted to play a game of cricket with his father before sleeping. One day a game of Gully cricket resulted in a few broken window panes and his father sent him to a cricket ground. That’s how his cricketing journey started. He played for Nashik District Cricket Association in invitation matches of Maharashtra Cricket Association. He represented Pune University at university level and even went to Mumbai to play in Kanga...

Saurabh Netravalkar’s story is uniquely ‘typical’. Like every other Mumbai cricketer, he had to juggle between cricket, education & Mumbai locals. Saurabh progressed through age-group cricket and represented India at the 2010 U-19 World Cup alongside KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, and Jaydev Unadkat to name a few. At the same time, he completed his engineering but rejected a job offer to focus on his cricketing dream. However, the fierce competition meant that he never cemented his place in...

Hardik Pandya's return? Hardik Pandya's captaincy?Ego clashes between seniors? Rohit Sharma's form? Or lack of support for Jasprit Bumrah in the bowling department? What has led to Mumbai Indians exiting the Indian Premier League with almost two weeks remaining in the league stage? Aditya Joshi, Sports Katta's staunch MI supporter, and Amol Karhadkar, sports journalist with The Hindu group, dissect Mumbai Indians' misery in 'Weekly Katta'हार्दिकची घरवापसी? रोहितचा सूर? विस्कळित संघव्यवस्थापन?...

Are you an athlete? If your answer is YES, this video is for you.If your answer is NO, this video is for you as well.Do you often feel a need to maintain your fitness but don’t know where to start? Are you a parent whose child plays a sport and you want to make sure he/she is ticking all the right boxes in terms of their progress? What are the do’s and don'ts and how should one look at fitness? How important is recovery? What are the various schools of thoughts when it comes to fitness and...

The suspense over India's squad for the T20 World Cup 2024 is finally over, with the 15-member team and four standbys having been announced on April 30. Do you think this squad has the wherewithal to end India's cricket team's prolonged drought for a World title? Here's our take, thanks to Amol Gokhale and Amol Gokhale, The Hindu's seasoned sports journalist.

The curious case of Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA). The DDCA is frequently in the news for the wrong reasons rather than the right ones. However, DDCA has nurtured some generational talents, who have gone on to represent Indian cricket at the highest level. The culture of Delhi Cricket is something as revered as Mumbai Cricket. Virender Sehwag, Ashish Nehra, Virat Kohli, Ishant Sharma and Rishabh Pant are some of the contemporary gems produced by Delhi. Why there's such an...

The selection committee meeting for Team India’s World Cup squad is always up for a huge debate. The deadline to submit the preliminary squad is May 1 and the team news could be out anytime soon. Only a handful of players are certain of their berth in the World Cup squad, but there could be some jostling for remaining positions. Against that backdrop, Sports Katta organised a selection committee meeting convened and chaired by Team Sports Katta member Amol Gokhale. Members of the selection...