Ameesha Joshi tells Harish Kotian/Rediff.com what made her and Anna Sarkissian devote much of the last 10 years on a movie on women's boxing in India.
Vijender Singh will defend his WBO Asia Pacific Super Middleweight title against Francis Cheka in New Delhi on December 17.
From the bottom of the table to champions in the course of four weeks. Harish Kotian/Rediff.com looks back at Mumbai Indians's astonishing turnaround in IPL 8.
'We knew these youngsters could turn out to be match-winners and we waited patiently for the last three years because success doesn't come overnight, it takes time.'
Ahead of the selectors' meeting in Mumbai on Wednesday, May 20, Harish Kotian picks the team he considers best to take on Bangladesh in the one-off Test in Fatullah from June 10 to 14.
'A few months ago, everybody was saying, "Why isn't Vijender taking part in the Olympics?"' 'This is not like going to Haryana or Delhi that you just take a ticket and reach there.' 'Going to the Olympics is not easy'
'The main reason for having neutral venues for the Ranji Trophy is to make it more competitive and less affected by doctoring of wickets.' 'There is no reason why people shouldn't be able to see Virat Kohli playing a Ranji Trophy match at any location.'
'The way they are playing, the bowlers we have, this is the best team in the world and I see them winning the World Test Championship.'
'Sachin Paaji told me to enjoy the situation because this is a reward for all the hard work I have put in for so many years in domestic cricket. He told me not to take any pressure on myself, but to enjoy the moment because this will stay with me forever.' Ajinkya Rahane relives his Test debut and how he has become the Indian team's new Mr Dependable in this exclusive interview with Harish Kotian/Rediff.com
Harish Kotian/Rediff.com explains why skipper Virat Kohli is backing his opening batsman to carry on the good form in the next two Tests of the series.
Olympic bronze medallist Gagan Narang on what made him start the Gagan Narang Sports Promotion Foundation way back in 2011 when he himself in the midst of his own shooting career.
'He has shown how consistent he is.'
Some teams have completely overhauled their squads. Others retained their core at the IPL Players Auction.
Ricky Ponting discusses Rohit Sharma's inability to dominate Test cricket like he does in ODIs, Virat Kohli's captaincy and the Australian team's poor showing in the Test series in Sri Lanka.
Karnataka's record-breaking triple centurion Karun Nair says he just applied himself and played to the merit of the ball during his unbeaten 310 against Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy final.
'If you bowl a no ball and get a wicket off that no ball, then there is no one else to blame.'
Conceding that South Africa's teams haven't really fulfilled their potential in World Cups, captain Faf du Plessis said the Proteas need to win the upcoming ICC World T20 to shed the tag of 'chokers' which is haunting them for quite a while now.
'He is one of the premier off-spinners in the world, but at the end of the day he is another bowler.'
'Rahulbhai told me to manage my mental energy better.' 'He said I was thinking about the game too much, hence I am not able to manage my mental energy and it is resulting in mental fatigue.' 'I am putting too much pressure on myself. He believed that was harmful to me.'
'The batsmen need to spend a lot of time at the wicket and wait for the right opportunity to score.' 'The bowlers have to be patient and build the pressure to force the batsmen into making mistakes.'
'He has been in Bollywood movies, he has been in the Olympics three times, he has been all around the world fighting.' 'This is just another fight for Vijender and if you know the guy, he will fight like a champion.'
'Dhoni has got his own ways of captaining the Indian team. He might not give out details or might not explain, but in his mind he knows very well how to captain the side, which players to pick and the right combination for a particular condition.'
'A player need to have T20 skills otherwise he is not going to survive.'
'No matter how much runs you score in the Ranji Trophy or Duleep Trophy or Irani Trophy, if you don't have T20 skills in batting or bowling you are not going to go too far.'
Harish Kotian/Rediff.com rates the Indian players in England.
'I have boxed at the amateur level for 15, 16 years and won every medal possible at the world level. I represented India in three Olympics, for 12 years, and that is not an easy thing. I am hoping to replicate my success in pro boxing.'
The top order failed to fire in difficult conditions, but the bowlers stood out, not only performing with the ball but scoring vital runs as well.
Harbhajan Singh, who bowled India to memorable victories against the Aussies, looks at the India-Australia series.
'I will put in my hundred percent in the Olympics,' promises Apurvi Chandela who took to shooting after watching Abhinav Bindra win gold in the Beijing Olympics.
'Whatever the reforms the Supreme Court has approved for BCCI, it won't be possible to implement it all.'
'It is the ability to fight back.' 'Obviously, you need skill to win a game of cricket, but the biggest thing is the resilience and the conviction to bounce back and the conviction to go and win abroad or anywhere.' 'I think that conviction is what stands out.'
Harish Kotian/Rediff.com picks five performances that took spectators' breaths away in week 9: Five wonderful knocks and one magical spell of bowling.
Former India opener Virender Sehwag offers a straight bat on the best batsmen in contemporary cricket, IPL team Kings XI Punjab, of which he is mentor, and why he is comfortable doing cricket commentary. Harish Kotian/Rediff.com listens in.
Harish Kotian/Rediff.com comes up with a pretty strong playing eleven from the long list of big names warming the benches this IPL season.
Going by the state of the pitch and the match situation after Day 1 in the ongoing third Test against South Africa in Nagpur, few are betting against another three-day finish, says Harish Kotian/Rediff.com.
After his retirement, Sachin Tendulkar, Rediff.com's Harish Kotian discovers, has become more outspoken about cricketing issues.
Justice Rajendra Mal Lodha explained what forced the Supreme Court to sack both BCCI president Anurag Thakur and secretary Ajay Shirke and the way forward for Indian cricket.
Sunrisers Hyderabad mentor VVS Laxman pointed out that Ishant's no-ball problem is one of the reasons for his exclusion from the side.
Rediff.com's Harish Kotian tells us who triumphed, who disappointed in the India-Sri Lanka series.
The batting icon has been busy practising for the last 10 days to get in shape for his brainchild the All Stars Cricket League, to be played in the US next month.
The biggest plus point for Kohli is that leadership is not affecting his performance, in fact it is the opposite, it is helping him.'
