A fired-up Mohun Bagan holding Pele’s Cosmos 2-2 in a friendly in 1977? VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid scripting perhaps India’s greatest-ever Test victory against Australia in 2001? Rohit Sharma’s 264 in an ODI against Sri Lanka in 2014?
Or The death of 16 football fans during a Mohun Bagan vs. East Bengal match in 1980? Crowd booing Sunil Gavaskar after Kapil Dev was dropped from a Test against England in 1984? The 1996 World Cup semi-final between India and Sri Lanka being called off due to crowd trouble and the latter being declared winners?

Good, bad or ugly, there are just too many memories associated with this majestic stadium, referred world over as the ‘iconic Eden’.
Indeed, this imposing structure in the heart of the city’s green zone is much more than just a sporting facility. It is an icon that almost every person in Kolkata takes pride in. After all, the first-ever World Cup final outside England was held here in 1987. Of greater historical significance was South Africa’s return to international cricket, after a two-decade-long ban, here in 1991. As an ageing Clive Rice led the South Africans into the field for a One-Day International, a crucial political message was being passed on: India stood at the forefront of a united world, well beyond the barriers of colour.

The Eden Gardens, which looks a lot bigger than its official capacity of 68,000, remains a favourite venue for the home team — be it India, Bengal or KKR — and fans alike​

Eden Gardens may no longer be the biggest cricket stadium in the world, but its lungs remain as strong as ever. Even now, a visiting batter feels ice-cold fingers running down the spine when the Eden stands launch into their trademark roar. No wonder, Eden Gardens has remained a favourite venue for the home team, whether it is India, Bengal or Kolkata Knight Riders. The daunting complex looks a lot bigger than its official capacity of 68,000.
​Even though a series of renovations have turned the Eden Gardens into a modern sporting infrastructure, it has managed to retain its old-world charm. Watching a game of cricket, whichever format it may be, from the stands is indeed a joy, particularly if it is a winter evening. The cool breeze from the Hooghly adds to the nip in the air, with the “expert commentary” going on all around makes for a heady mixture. The guy two rows away in a floppy hat has lots of advice on how Virat Kohli should tackle a Mitchel Starc outswinger. The woman to his right is no novice. She is holding nothing back in letting Cheteshwar Pujara know where he should dispatch Nathan Lyon.

​
The much spoken-about Kolkata adda is at its glorified best as the game is dissected threadbare. There could be a Poltu at the “iconic Eden” swinging his shirt like the “iconic Dada”, Sourav Ganguly. In another corner, a Bappa might well be advising “Warner-da” to move aside when Jasprit Bumrah hurls a fireball at him.
​Some old-timers might recall a pitch invader climbing over the fence and dodging the guards to run onto the ground with a bat to teach Gavaskar cross-batted shots. Sunny played along with mock seriousness and the entire stadium was in splits.
​This enthusiasm took an ugly turn in 1999 when an accidental collision between Pakistan’s Shoaib Akhtar and Sachin Tendulkar in a Test match led to the latter being declared run out. The Eden crowd turned hostile and, amid chants of “Shoaib cheater”, stones and bottles were thrown to the ground. Play was stopped and Tendulkar had to return to the field to pacify the crowd. The stadium had to be evacuated and the match continued with around 200 in attendance. For the record, Pakistan won the match, but Eden Gardens’ image had been tarnished. ​

​
​

The first-ever day-night Test in India was played on this hallowed turf in 2019. The pink ball provided a new dimension to the game and threw up unknown challenges. That India walloped Bangladesh is just a side story in the larger picture of the innovation that was mastered in Australia. The next big international game at this venue, an ODI between India and South Africa, had to be cancelled due to the impending Covid-19 pandemic.
There was a time when fans were allowed to carry food with them inside, giving Eden a picnic-like atmosphere. Not any longer, due to security reasons. That hasn’t dampened the enthusiasm much as fans have reluctantly accepted this new normal in the package of watching cricket at the Eden. And if there is no cricket happening at the stadium, a stroll in the park beside it could be a delightful outing in the evening: A breath of fresh air; a few stolen moments.

The post CRICKET’S GARDEN OF EDEN appeared first on I Am Kolkata | Your Ultimate Guide to the City.

Carrying on the legacy, rowing continues to be a sought-after s sport in Kolkata with hundreds of young boys and girls enrolling themselves at Calcutta Rowing Club, Bengal Rowing Club and Lake Club along Rabindra Sarobar. They are groomed into national players every year. There are two more clubs, one of the  Kolkata Police at Subhas Sarobar and another of Calcutta University at the Menoka cinema-end of the Lake.

The post ROWING THROUGH HISTORY appeared first on I Am Kolkata | Your Ultimate Guide to the City.

This is when life comes to a standstill, loyalty gets divided, and the noise becomes deafening and defining. If the build-up to the game borders on the breathtaking, the spectacle slowly but surely whittles down to the stands-and-deliver mantra when the moment of reckoning arrives, and the teams seek inspiration from the 12th Man.
In a football-obsessed city, the Salt Lake Stadium has become the spiritual home of Indian football. Or, maybe more. Every grass on the turf here is resplendent with tales of grit, gumption and glory. This is the place where records are written and rewritten, dreams are realized against all odds and stars are born creating myths and conjuring magic. In a way, this magnificent, gigantic architectural marvel on EM Bypass embodies the the atre of sporting dream.

​
How is it like playing at this venue? “With the kind of atmosphere we receive from the stands, it is impossible for the opponents to win at this stadium,” feels Mohun Bagan SG’s Spanish coach Juan Ferrando. On the way to winning the ISL title in 2022-23, Ferrando guided the team to 10 wins out of 13 matches at home — including both legs of the derby against East Bengal and the semifinal victory over Hyderabad FC via a penalty shootout.
“The moment you enter the field to the roar from the stands, you are never short on motivation. You realize supporters are playing behind you as the team’s 12th man,” Bhaichung Bhutia, only Indian player to score a hat-trick in the Kolkata derby, had once said. And to British football manager Steve Cooper, who shepherded England to their famous Under-17 World Cup triumph, playing in front of a packed Salt Lake Stadium gave him a “ senior World Cuplike experience”.

”.

The post FOOTBALL’S HOME ADDRESS appeared first on I Am Kolkata | Your Ultimate Guide to the City.

​Once the heartbeat of the jewel of the British empire, Kolkata — formerly Calcutta — owed its love for the game to its European rulers. Legend has it that in 1877, a 10-year-old Nagendra Prasad Sarbadhikari, while accompanying his mother to Hooghly, kicked a ball back to a group of British soldiers who were playing at the CFC ground.

​Nagendra Prasad went on to be known as the ‘Father of Indian football’, but the ball he had struck on that day set in motion a movement that shook the very foundation of the British Raj some year s later. On July 29 in 1911, Mohun Bagan — founded in 1889 and one of the oldest football clubs in Asia — stunned East York Regiment 2-1 in the IFA Shield final. What the 11 bar e-footed natives — who later came to be etched in our memory as ‘The Immortal XI’ — did on the Calcutta Football Club ground was not just the triumph of a trophy. It defined a belief that the British were not invincible. It gave the Swadeshi movement a shot in the arm and a spine to stand up to adversity.

​If the game has this element of collective and historic consciousness in the evolution of the city, Mohun Bagan’s rivalry with East Bengal and the rise of Mohammedan Sporting — the holy trinity of the city’s football ethos — makes its presence both dramatic and symbolic. Mohammedan Sporting became the first Indian club to win the Calcutta Football League five years in a row (1934-38) and their success provided an impetus to the Muslim nationalist movement in the 1930s. However, it’s the rivalry between Mohun Bagan and East Bengal that has given the city its defining identity and vibrancy.

​East Bengal came into being in 1920 and according to records available, the club was born out of a protest against the arch-rivals, when Jorabagan Club vice-president Suresh Chandra Chaudhury took exception to Mohun Bagan’s move to ignore a player suggested by him for a tournament and decided to break away from the club to form a new outfit.
​However, the derby’s lasting significance is deeply rooted in politics. Bengal endured one of the biggest flows of forced migration in the history of humanity twice — first during the Independence in 1947 and again at the time of Bangladesh’s liberation in1971. These people found in East Bengal club not only a lost name and a lost identity but also a platform to rediscover themselves.

​The game has since evolved as much as the city itself. From Pele and Maradona to Messi, football gods have descended on the Mecca of Indian football over the years.
​As former India striker Dipendu Biswas, who has played for the city’s Big Three clubs, recalled: “The seed of my dream as a footballer was sown in those journeys in the late 1980s when I used to come to the city from Basirhat and watch my football heroes first hand — a small-town boy carrying aspirations and hoping to realize them one day in the big city. ”

The post MAD ABOUT FOOTBALL appeared first on I Am Kolkata | Your Ultimate Guide to the City.

KOLKATA: In an effort to develop sports outside the big cities, the Bengal government has decided to come in support of the Kanmari Football Academy in Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas. In a programme on Tuesday, state sports minister Aroop Biswas handed over kits to 50 women footballers of the academy at the Calcutta Sports Journalists’ Club (CSJC) tent. The club has tied up with the Banyan Tree Group to develop football in the region.
“We will look to arrange a proper ground for these budding women footballers at Kanmari,” Biswas said adding that the state government will also arrange their training facilities in Kolkata also so that they can come and practise here from time to time.

Former India international Dipendu Biswas was named the technical director of the academy and the striker interacted with the girls for the first time on Tuesday. Biswas also shared many interesting stories of his growing up days to inspire the girls. The sports minister also hoped to see some of these footballers play at higher level someday. “If you have the zeal and the hunger in your belly, I am sure that you will succeed in your endeavour,” he stated.
The minister also promised to provide technical help to these players at the sports medicine unit that has been set up by the state government.

The academy was rechristened the ‘Banyan Tree Kanmari Social Care Football Academy’ with active support from Banyan Tree Group head Prabir Roy Chowdhury. Indian Football Association (IFA) former secretary Joydeep Mukherjee too pledged his support for the project asking the girls to work hard to achieve big in life.
Earlier the day began with a health check-up camp being organised for all the girls by Apollo Clinic.

The post Bengal Govt comes in support of grassroots football appeared first on I Am Kolkata | Your Ultimate Guide to the City.

KOLKATA: Two 13-year-old girls racing in a double scull event at the state rowing championship at Rabindra Sarobar fell in the water after their boat capsized on Wednesday. Help arrived swiftly on a speedboat and the two were pulled out of the water within 90 seconds.
This is the first time competitive rowing events were being held at the Lake since the death of two South Point students during a practice session ahead of a competition 10 months ago. The efficient rescue on Wednesday was greeted by cheers from rowers and parents alike. Rowing officials said the incident acted as a morale booster.

“Boat capsize is a normal incident during any form of rowing. It was unfortunate that we couldn’t save the two students last year. But now we are equipped to act faster, as was demonstrated on Wednesday. The two rowers themselves were also prepared and held on to the boat. Both were unhurt,” said Raja Dasgupta, secretary of WBRA.
On May 21 last year, two South Point High School students – Pushan Sadhukhan (14) and Souryadeep Chatterjee (14) – drowned during a squall during practice. It led to immediate suspension of all rowing activities at the Lake for the next five months, after which rowing practise resumed with new SOPs by Kolkata Police and KMDA in place.

According to rowers and organisers, Wednesday marked the resumption of full fledged rowing activities at the lake with the return of championships, regattas and tournaments.
Wednesday was the first day of the four-day tournament where rowers from Calcutta Rowing Club (CRC), Bengal Rowing Club (BRC), Lake Club and Kolkata competed under four categories – under 13, under 15, under 18, and open championship. There were 28 races of all major events, like scull, double scull, pairs and fours. The organisers said apart from sticking to the SOP, they maintained additional precaution by starting the event at 6.30am and wrapping it up by 10am, before any chance of nor’wester or evening showers.

“The rowers had to submit a declaration that they can swim 50m to the shore in rowing clothes in case the boat capsizes, even as rescue boats with lifeguards were ready along with ambulances. Red lights and flags were in place, and so was a siren to signal if there was forecast of breeze of 40kmph and above. Before the event, we briefed all participants about the safety protocols, and they were followed accordingly,” said Dasgupta.

The post Rowing competitions return to Lake with state championship appeared first on I Am Kolkata | Your Ultimate Guide to the City.