আরিন মজুমদার পর্ব ১ : প্রথম বাঁশি বৃষ্টি ভিজে মাঠে সেই বিকেলটা যেন কলকাতার অন্য সব বিকেলের থেকে আলাদা। সল্টলেক স্টেডিয়ামের প্র্যাকটিস গ্রাউন্ডে সবুজ ঘাসের উপর ছোট ছোট জলকণা জমে উঠেছিল, যেন প্রত্যেকটা ঘাসের ডগায় একেকটা গল্প আটকে আছে। ঈশা চক্রবর্তী হাতে মেডিকেল কিট নিয়ে দাঁড়িয়ে ছিল মাঠের এক কোণে। নতুন দায়িত্বে এসেছে—দলের অফিশিয়াল ফিজিওথেরাপিস্ট হিসেবে। খেলোয়াড়দের সঙ্গে কাজ করার অভিজ্ঞতা তার থাকলেও, পেশাদার ফুটবল দলের সঙ্গে এটাই প্রথম। ঈশার চোখে বারবার চলে যাচ্ছিল নির্ভয় গাঙ্গুলির দিকে। দলের স্ট্রাইকার, এক সময়ের জাতীয় দলের প্রতিশ্রুতিমান নাম। কিন্তু গত মরশুমে হাঁটুর গুরুতর ইনজুরির পর সবকিছু পাল্টে গেছে। স্পোর্টস পেজের শিরোনামে সে আজ…
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Elena Ray The First Match The campus was alive with a kind of energy that only a sports festival could bring. Banners of bright colors fluttered in the late March wind, and the entire cricket ground glowed under the warmth of the early afternoon sun. Students crowded the stands, voices rising in a chorus of cheers, laughter, and that familiar rhythm of drums that echoed across the field. For most, it was just another inter-college cricket tournament. For Meera Kapoor, however, it was a story waiting to be told. She sat at the very edge of the press box, her…
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Saina Rathi 1 The red clay of Delhi Tennis Academy felt like home to Ananya Rai. Every morning, at exactly six-fifteen, she’d step onto Court Four, breathe in the warm scent of sunbaked dust, and begin her drills before the city’s traffic could find its voice. She lived for the thwack of the ball against her strings, for the rhythm of her shoes sliding into position, for the moment her serve arched into the perfect curve, sharp and fast. Today was no different—except for the buzz floating around the academy like static. She bounced the ball once, twice, and then…
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Rhea Dutt Part 1: The First Serve The first time Aarav saw Mira, she was smashing a shuttlecock across the net with such precision that it left her opponent frozen. It wasn’t love at first sight—not yet. It was something sharper. Intrigue. Aarav, the newly recruited assistant coach at St. Augustine Sports Academy, had arrived straight from the national training camp, carrying with him the calm confidence of someone who had nothing left to prove on the court. Mira, on the other hand, was fiery, competitive, and unapologetically ambitious. She didn’t notice him at first. Her focus was the tournament…
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Ayesha Rao Part 1: The First Dive The pool was colder than she had expected. Zoya Narang stood at the edge, staring into the shimmering blue, her toes curled against the tile. The whistle had already blown. Others had dived. But she hesitated. Not because she didn’t know how to swim—Zoya could glide like a whisper—but because this was the national camp, and those lanes held sharks in Speedos. A drop of water slid from her temple to her lips. Chlorine. Fear. And something more. “Jump, wild card.” The voice came from behind her—low, amused, and irritatingly familiar. Zoya didn’t…