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Post his retirement as a cricketer in 2000-01, Chandrakant Pandit found his true calling in coaching. Over the last two decades, Pandit has been the head coach of six Ranji-winning teams with three different State units.

In this issue

23-07-202215 STORIES

Moment of glory: Chandrakant Pandit is hoisted on the shoulders of the players after Madhya Pradesh’s win in the final. “I did remember that final against Karnataka (in 1998-99). I am happy we won now,” said the elated coach.

Ranji Trophy final: Romance, redemption, and a bit of history

Life does give a second chance. Chandrakant Pandit faltered at the final hurdle in 1998-99 but returned as coach to finish the job this season at the

Overkill: ‘Lifting to failure’ or ‘training to failure’ sounds good and macho, but in reality, it leads to failure. Training to failure is a technique used to build muscles by doing as many repetitions of the exercise as you possibly can until you can’t perform the movement anymore. Packing in too many drills in a session can be counterproductive for neuro-muscular adaptation. It will make the athlete tired and lose focus.

Adapted athlete or adaptable athlete?

When a player is ready technically, psychologically and physically to compete and win at any given situation, he is considered an adaptable athlete.

Dream team: (From left) R. Vaishali, R. B. Ramesh, and R. Praggnanandhaa. Vaishali and Praggnanandhaa were well known in chess circles when Ramesh took them under his wing, and since 2014, the brother-sister duo has given Indian chess lovers lots of reasons to cheer.

Praggnanandhaa, Vaishali and Ramesh - a formidable alliance

R. Praggnanandhaa and R. Vaishali are gifted chess players, and they are blessed to be under the stewardship of coach R. B. Ramesh.

Chandrakant Pandit’s philosophy is simple: Always respect the game. Nothing trumps sport.

‘Never consider yourself bigger than the game’

Chandrakant Pandit wants the Madhya Pradesh players to remain humble and grounded after winning the Ranji Trophy for the first time.

Making champions: Chandrakant Pandit has enjoyed unprecedented success in domestic cricket with more than one team and perhaps it would be better suited to compare him to Pep Guardiola than to Alex Ferguson.

Chandrakant Pandit: Man with the Midas touch

Post his retirement as a cricketer in 2000-01, Chandrakant Pandit found his true calling in coaching. Over the last two decades, Pandit has been the h

Unstoppable: Sarfaraz Khan sprints in elation after reaching his century on day two of the Ranji Trophy final between Mumbai and Madhya Pradesh. By the end of the match, Sarfaraz had 982 runs in the tournament at an average of 122.75.

Ranji Trophy: Sarfaraz Khan haring off in quest of a dream

Love for batting and a determination to turn his father’s dream into reality has kept Sarfaraz Khan going despite several roadblocks.

Determined and focussed: Jyothi Yarraji’s goal this season is to run a sub-13 second race. It’s a barrier few doubt she will cross.

Jyothi Yarraji, ever ready to push the envelope

Stepping out of the comfort zone, while uncomfortable, is often a useful learning experience. And it’s one that has seen hurdler Jyothi Yarraji become

Gender issue: Swimmer Lia Thomas, who earlier competed as a man, underwent hormone therapy for two and a half years before winning the 500-yard NCAA Swimming championship as a woman. One of the competitors said this “hurt her, her team and other women in the pool.”

Last Word: It’s between inclusivity and fairness

The biggest issue in sport today is not doping or abuse of technology, it is gender. Do you go by biology or personal identity? Do you accept transgen

The comeback specialist: Dinesh Karthik, now in the evening of his career and after a stop-start journey with the Indian team, will have everything to prove at the T20 World Cup this year. This late impetus that makes him a likely member of the squad for the World Cup has come with his numerous remarkable cameos in the death overs for Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2022.

T20 World Cup: Dinesh Karthik still has fire in his belly

At 37, Dinesh Karthik is perhaps at his handsomest in his new avatar in T20 cricket. Role clarity may hand him his best run yet with the Indian team.

Abhishek Mukherjee

BENGALURU KARNATAKA 24/06/2022 : Field umpires talk to Mumbai skipper Pritjhvi Shaw, during the Ranji Trophy 2022 final match between Mumbai and Madhya Pradesh, at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, KSCA (Karnataka State Cricket Association Stadium), in Bengaluru on June 24, 2022. Photo MURALI KUMAR K / The Hindu

Ranji Trophy: With DRS absent, umpiring decisions continue to unsettle teams

Over the years, umpiring in domestic cricket has often come under the scanner. Implementing the DRS, albeit for the knockout rounds of tournaments, wi

Tamil Nadu, Chennai, 30/06/2022 : Indian Chess player Vantika Agarwal, Bhakti Kulkarni, R.Vaishali 44th Chess Olympiad held at Mamallapuram from July 28 to August 10, 2022. Photo: Jothi Ramalingam .B / The Hindu

All eyes on Indian players ahead of Chess Olympiad

With the Chess Olympiad around the corner, a few key members of the Indian women’s teams trained recently under 2012 World Championship runner-up Bori

England head coach Brendon McCullum, left, and managing director Rob Key attend a nets session at Trent Bridge Cricket Ground, Nottingham, England, Thursday June 9, 2022 one day ahead of the 2nd test match between England and New Zealand. (Mike Egerton/PA via AP)

On The Write Line

Gavaskar on England's new-found form in Tests

By appointing a person without any coaching degrees, which has been a tradition to ensure jobs for the old boys network in English cricket, Rob Key, t

Sunil Gavaskar

BUDAPEST, HUNGARY - JUNE 24: (EDITORS NOTE: Image taken using an underwater camera.) Katie Ledecky of Team United States competes in the Women's 800m Freestyle Final on day seven of the Budapest 2022 FINA World Championships at Duna Arena on June 24, 2022 in Budapest, Hungary. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) Kristof Milak Katie Ledecky

Ledecky unstoppable

Freestyle queen Katie Ledecky won gold medals in the women’s 400m, 800m and 1500m apart from helping USA win gold in the 4x200 freestyle relay at the

India's Jasprit Bumrah (2L) celebrates taking the wicket of England's Ollie Pope (unseen) for no runs on Day 4 of the fifth cricket Test match between England and India at Edgbaston, Birmingham in central England on July 4, 2022. (Photo by Geoff Caddick / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. NO ASSOCIATION WITH DIRECT COMPETITOR OF SPONSOR, PARTNER, OR SUPPLIER OF THE ECB - RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. NO ASSOCIATION WITH DIRECT COMPETITOR OF SPONSOR, PARTNER, OR SUPPLIER OF THE ECB

India flatters to deceive in Birmingham Test

The Birmingham Test was a lesson in discipline and skills that showed India in a bad light. The incorrigible ways of India again underlined the fact t

Vijay Lokapally

India's Ronaldo Singh Laitonjam in action during the Asian Track Cycling championships in New Delhi.

This Ronaldo stays away from football to put India on world cycling map

Ronaldo Singh Laitonjam won a bronze in the team sprint event and a silver medal with a new national record in the men’s elite sprint race at the Asia

Jonathan Selvaraj

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