When I planned my 27th birthday trip to Kerala, I had a very clear vision in mind. There would be beaches. There would be the backwaters. There would be long boat rides, cute cafs and perhaps a fancy dinner overlooking the water. What I did not anticipate was celebrating my birthday with Lionel Messi.
The 23rd FIFA World Cup, to be staged across the Americas from June 11 to July 19, has once again ignited excitement across the globe. India, despite its national football team languishing at 139th in the FIFA rankings, has been swept up in the tournament's magic.
Experienced India international defender Rahul Bheke has signed a one-year contract with Mohun Bagan Super Giant. The versatile 34-year-old, who has previously played for Bengaluru FC, Mumbai City FC, and Kerala Blasters, expressed his excitement about joining the "best club in the country" and aims to win trophies, including the Kolkata derby.
The English Premier League (EPL) has announced cricketer Sanju Samson as its new official ambassador in India.
If TVK MLAs and ministers are perceived as clean, or demonstrably cleaner than their predecessors, the credibility dividend will be enormous. The voter will feel rewarded, points out Ramesh Menon.
As Vijay is set to lead Tamil Nadu after a historic electoral win, we take a look back at films that built his mass appeal while affirming how cinema shaped his larger-than-life public persona.
Lionel Messi on Thursday confirmed his participation in the much-anticipated GOAT Tour of India 2025, calling it an "honour" to revisit the "passionate football nation" where he last played 14 years ago.
The Kerala government announced on Wednesday that the Argentina national football team, led by legendary player Lionel Messi, will visit the state next year for an international friendly match, which Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan hailed as a tribute to state people's passion for soccer.
The club also said that an official complaint has been lodged with the appropriate authorities urging them to conduct a thorough investigation into the incident.
Sanju Samson, then a skinny 14-year-old, curled on the bed in his hotel room, watched Kolkata Knight Riders' Brendon McCullum hammering a 73-ball 158 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the first-ever IPL match.
The view is that the attention on the national team is fleeting, incidental and dependent on the results they produce.
Except for shooting, a major Olympic sport, most of the top stars in other disciplines will give the National Games a miss.
Kerala will be one of those places where the line between tourism, a land, a people and their way of life will blur. It won't be tourism; it will be a visit to experience Kerala.
The final inspection will take place later this year following which the venue of the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup India 2020 will be named.
He flew to Dubai from Kerala on Febraury 23, bought a cycle, took a ship to the port city of Bandar Abbas, the capital of Hormozgan province on the southern coast of Iran, before embarking on his cycling odyssey to Russia.
'The venue has a very strong football culture and it would be a matter of great shame if we don't manage to fulfil the requirements in time'
More than the story of any other footballer or athlete, Pele's life helped democratise his sport; made it the stuff of a widely shared dream. Shyam G Menon salutes the memory of the greatest footballer ever.
Get your lowdown on what's happening in Malayalam cinema!
'Many of us hope that India will soon play well enough to be part of truly global sporting tournaments like the football World Cup and the Olympics,' says Aakar Patel.
Varied cultural events featuring the traditional art forms of Kerala was organised at the unveiling ceremony in 'God's Own Country.'
Football fans in Goa are shaking off their sussegado and becoming an animated, raucous, even belligerent lot.
'These reports of cases being very low in other states, is it true? Are the numbers believable?'
Former Manchester United and Mumbai City forward, Uruguay's Diego Forlan and La Liga's managing director for India, Jose Antonio Cachaza discussed ways for India to become a footballing powerhouse. Norma Godinho/Rediff.com sat in as the duo discussed Indian football and the Spanish League's new India tie-up.
Indian centre-back Sandesh Jhingan feels he will be "tested to the limit" while enhancing his game outside his comfort zone at Croatian league Prva HNL.
Vikas Plakkot, founder of Just For Kicks (JFK) is using using the game of football to develop life skills for students in low-income schools in India.
The third edition of the Indian Super League got off to a colourful start with a star-studded opening ceremony even as the fans, wearing their passion for the game on their sleeves, descended at the Indira Gandhi International Stadium to witness the gala ceremony.
'... their love was jinxed.' 'His celluloid path to his partner's heart was seldom smooth; it had to contend with greedy relatives and indecisive sweethearts, who were more ready to sacrifice than woo and wed.'
Folk artist from Chhattisgarh Teejan Bai, Guelleh, Naik and theatre actor from Maharashtra Balwant Moreshwar Purandare will be honoured with Padma Vibushan.
'Kumbalangi Nights is a movie that respects women, but most importantly, it's a movie that loves them,' says Sreehari Nair.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday
'I was a very late child of my father. I was suddenly a little toy, who appeared from nowhere. Everybody experimented.' 'I don't know why I took up dancing. I think I wanted to find one more excuse to drop out from school.' Kamal Haasan gives us beautiful nuggets from his life.
For his 60th birthday in December, which he called his third 20th birthday, Mallya flew in Enrique Iglesias to perform at his villa overlooking the beach in Goa.
I am not a quitter. I was with the United Nations for 29 years. I don't know whether I will have 29 years in politics, but I don't intend to end with just 5 years, Dr Shashi Tharoor tells rediff.com's Shobha Warrier
