Columns

Ayaz Memon, editor-at-large

Ayaz Memon has been a journalist for more than 30 years writing on sports, politics, cinema, etc. After graduating in economics and law, Memon pursued journalism as a career after a chance job with Sportsweek magazine in 1978 while still at law school. A passion for sports -- cricket, in particular -- influenced his decision not to follow in his father's footsteps as a lawyer.

Memon rose quickly from the ranks to become the editor of Sportsweek in 1986. He also became sports editor of The Independent, editor of Mid-Day (1993-2000), editor of Bombay Times, and national sports editor of The Times of India (2000-2005). He has been with DNA since the paper was launched in 2005.

Memon has covered more than 100 Tests, 250-plus One-Day Internationals, six cricket World Cups, the Asian Games in 1990, the Commonwealth Games in 1998, and the football World Cup in 2006. In the course of his career, he has been witness to several momentous occasions in sporting history. He was at Lord's when India won the cricket World Cup. He was at the Sharjah stadium when Javed Miandad smashed the last ball from Chetan Sharma for six. He was at the Olympic stadium in Seoul when a drug-fuelled Ben Johnson burst to the 100m finish in 9.79 seconds, leaving Carl Lewis in his wake. He was at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore when Sunil Gavaskar made a heroic 96, in vain, in his final Test against Pakistan. He was also at the National Stadium in Karachi when a boy named Sachin Tendulkar made his international debut in 1989.

Apart from sports, Memon has covered two general elections and interviewed leading lights from the political, entertainment, and business arenas. He has also written three books on cricket and co-authored one with Ranjona Banerji on the golden jubilee of India's independence, India 50: The Making Of A Nation.