Power Sport

AS FAR BACK AS 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced that India wants to host the Olympic Games of 2036. There has been much momentum towards that objective as when in July this year a formal letter of intent was given to the International Olympic Committee. The road to hosting the Olympics however passes through the Com­monwealth Games of 2030 and a step was taken in that direction too this week. On August 27, the Union Cabinet gave its approval to submit a bid to host it and, as per a Press Information Bureau report, also “to sign a Host Collaboration Agreement (HCA) along with the required Guarantees from concerned Ministries, Departments and Authorities and sanction of required grant-in-aid to Gujarat Government in case the bid gets accepted.”

If the bid goes through, the 2030 Games will be held in Ahmedabad. This too is a precursor to the Olympic Games 2036 ambition because Ahmedabad is also the venue for it. The city has been creating the infrastructure for it. A ` 6,000-crore sporting enclave project with multiple venues for different sports is under construction.

India has a decent probability of winning the bid when in Novem­ber, the Commonwealth Sport’s General Assembly meets in Glasgow to make a decision, but others like Nigeria are also in contention.

The last time India hosted the Commonwealth Games was in 2010 but, while there was considerable excitement, it was soon overtaken by allegations of massive corruption. To do it again successfully would salvage that damage. It would also provide much-needed experience in conducting a sport­ing spectacle of scale. As many as 72 countries will participate for the Commonwealth Games. Conducting it will also tell the world that the country is capable of organising the Olympics. Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya thanked the prime minister on X after the Cabinet’s decision and wrote, “India has rapidly progressed towards becoming a sports superpower in the last 11 years. Today’s decision demonstrates that we are fully prepared to host international competitions.” (By Madhavankutty Pillai)

 

Ideas
Defensiveness

The decision by the cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara to call an end to his career wasn’t surprising. He had continued to play in the domestic circuit after being left out of the Indian team, and harboured dreams of making a comeback. But the West Zone squad for the Duleep Trophy, a tournament which will feature cricketers who are part of India’s Test team and those who selectors feel are contenders, did not feature him. Pujara’s announcement drew effusive praise on his career, but like much of his career, it was low key. And that was because Pujara, with his defensive and workman-like approach to batting, was never someone who would set people’s heart aflutter. If one looks at his numbers, Pujara may not appear to be one of India’s batting greats. He made a little over 7,000 runs at an average of 43.60 from 103 matches in Test cricket. But unlike the generation before, Pujara was playing in an era where pitches became much spicier. In an era where batting got tougher and batters chose to counterattack more, Pujara was one of the few who remained defensive. He would bat and bat, scoring more slowly than most, but grinding down opposition bowlers, so that he and his teammates could feast on them later. He may not have set your heart racing and often appeared content to play the role of the supporting act, where another flashier batter would play what broadcasters would market as an epic. But Pujara was one of a kind. And as T20 becomes even bigger, it seems unlikely another like him will emerge.

Newsmaker
Taylor Swift: Miss Americana In Love
Swifties celebrate their icon’s engagement to a footballer

IT WAS VINTAGE Taylor Swift, singer, confessional songwriter, electric performer, and every teenage girl’s icon. An engagement recreated for social media, keeping fans centrestage with Easter eggs embedded in the song and emoji on the post. The 35-year-old billionaire pop star broke the internet with the Instagram post get­ting 32 million views and counting.

It is almost immaterial whom she is engaged to, but let the record say that it is American footballer, Travis Kelce. For her fans, famously called Swifties, it is a moment to cherish. Their icon has been unlucky in love, having had a series of failed relationships with men such as Jake Gyllenhaall, John Mayer, Harry Styles, and Tom Hiddleston. Not that Swift has let that get in the way of her world domination. Each relationship has fuelled her music, enabling fans to embark on treasure hunts, scouring her lyrics for meaning beyond mere words. Swift’s way of engaging fans, giving them a ringside view of her loves and losses, while also showing them a way to emerge a winner, her girl gang of besties, and her grace under pressure, have solidified her stardom. In a world of corporate pop stars, she has seemed authentic to fans, allowing them to own her, rather than vice versa.

She has stood up for artists’ rights, endorsed presidents, and been Time magazine’s Person of the Year in 2023. She has also dodged controversies, most famously with Kanye West, and David Mueller, each time emerging stronger than ever. All through this, and even the hysteria of her Eras Tour, she has retained her Miss Americana, girl boss ethos, and yes, tailored her own public persona. (By Kaveree Bamzai)

Noisemaker
Oily Bluster: Peter Navarro

In a television interview, Peter Navarro, White House senior trade adviser and a close aide to US President Donald Trump, made the accusation that India was responsible for the war between Russia and Ukraine not ending. This was because India purchased Russian oil and therefore fed “its war machine”. The argument however belies the fact that it was the US, under former President Joe Biden, that encouraged India to trade with Russia to keep global oil prices stable. As a sovereign nation, India will do whatever it needs for self-interest. If the US does not have continuity of policy, it is not India’s problem. Navarro also said, “India, you are the biggest democracy in the world. Act like one.” It is exactly how India is acting.

Money Mantra
Profit From Panic
Is there money to be made out of the tariff-driven market decline?

MARKETS OFTEN MOVE in waves of fear and relief. And nowhere is this more visible than during sudden global dis­ruptions, be it tariffs, trade wars, or other geopolitical events.

The imposition of tariffs, in particular, is notorious for sending stock prices tumbling in the short run. Yet, beneath this turbulence lies a deeper truth: Such moments of chaos often lay the groundwork for some of the best opportunities long-term investors can seize.

Stocks of even fundamentally strong companies are dragged down not because their business model is faulty, but because mar­kets dislike uncertainty. For those who measure value in years rather than quarters, this becomes an invitation.

High-quality companies—those with strong balance sheets, resilient demand, and enduring advantages—often find their shares trading at bargain prices, temporarily punished by events they will eventually adapt to.

So, the lesson here is not that tariffs are irrelevant. They do bite into near-term profits and can cause genuine disruptions. But they rarely alter the fundamental trajectory of resilient businesses.

Now, global trade disputes, by nature, are fluid and negotiable. Tar­iffs may be used as bargaining tools in broader negotiations, which means they often get diluted, reversed, or simply absorbed into the cost structures of industries.

Investors who can distinguish between temporary earnings headwinds and permanent structural decline are the ones who benefit most.

The conclusion is clear. Short-term shocks like tariffs are part of the market’s natural rhythm. They unsettle prices, rattle nerves, and distort perceptions. But for those with the discipline to step back, they also present rare openings to accumulate quality businesses at valuations that would be unthinkable in calmer times.
Rather than fearing these disruptions, long-term investors would do well to view them as disguised invitations—moments when the market, in its panic, temporarily misprices the very companies most likely to thrive in the years ahead. (By Ramesh Singh)

Viral
A Paragliding DJ

An Indian disc jockey who calls herself DJ TRYPS created a set of viral videos when she played music with her DJ mixer while paragliding in the sky. Dressed in an all-white outfit and calling herself the “world’s first paragliding female DJ”, she took to the skies with her mixer and then performed her set mid-air at an altitude of over 10,000 feet. The purpose of course was to go viral, which she managed. And many did applaud her for her courage. But she also copped a fair bit of criticism. India has witnessed many paragliding-related accidents and deaths over the last few years. There tend to be many fly-by-night operators on the paragliding scene in India, and safety often seems to be the last thing on anyone’s mind. Flying with a DJ mixer and playing a music set mid-air just seems reckless.

 

Commonwealth GamesHost Collaboration AgreementNarendra ModiOlympic Games 2036Peter NavarrosportsTaylor Swift