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The Department of Sports Management hosted ' United Through Sport ' on Monday, bringing together voices from diplomacy, sports administration, and inclusive sport to mark the spirit of the Commonwealth Games 2026 . Beyond the felicitations and formal proceedings, the event's real draw was a candid, free-flowing conversation between two men who've spent decades around sport, one in policy, the other on the ground.

There's something about sport that gets even diplomats talking like fans. That's exactly what played out at iLEAD's Department of Sports Management on Monday, where 'United Through Sport' turned into less of a formal seminar and more of an honest, often funny, conversation about why sport matters.

Dr. Andrew Fleming , British Deputy High Commissioner for East & North East India, and Mr. Chandan Roy Chowdhury, President of the Bengal Olympic Association , sat down for a candid chat moderated by Mr. Jupiter Dalai of iLEAD. There was no stiff lectern, no rehearsed speeches, just two men who clearly love sport, talking to a room full of students who want to build careers in it.

Dr. Fleming didn't hide his excitement through the conversation. His home country Scotland hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games is clearly personal for him, and it showed in how animatedly he spoke about it. He even threw in a cheeky line, admitting he's "biased," but insisting that anyone visiting the UK really should make time for Scotland. The room laughed along, and it set the tone for the rest of the discussion, warm, informal, and refreshingly honest.


Beyond the Medals

The two speakers didn't just talk about glory and championships. A large chunk of the conversation circled back to the basics, investment, infrastructure, and building sport from the ground up in India. Both agreed that without fixing the grassroots first, the bigger dreams don't hold up. Volunteering came up too, with Dr. Fleming and Mr. Roy Chowdhury both stressing that getting involved early, even in roles away from the playing field, is often how the best sports administrators are made. For a room full of Sports Management students, it felt like a message aimed straight at them.

In one of the lighter moments of the evening, Mr. Roy Chowdhury revealed that he's still turning out for football at the age of 67. It got a good laugh from the students, but it also said something real about his relationship with the game, one that clearly hasn't dimmed with age.

Room for Everyone

Both speakers also spent considerable time speaking about how sport is opening up to everyone. Para-athletes and differently-abled sportspersons, they pointed out, are no longer sitting on the sidelines of the conversation, they're increasingly part of the main story, in visibility, recognition, and opportunity. Fittingly, several para-cricketers from the West Bengal team were present in the audience through the discussion and were personally felicitated by Dr. Fleming and Mr. Roy Chowdhury.

The panel discussion wrapped up, but the sport didn't stop there. Dr. Fleming, Mr. Roy Chowdhury, and a group of iLEAD students headed up to the rooftop turf for a friendly football match right after. Watching the two of them play alongside the students, it was hard to miss just how much sport actually means to them, this wasn't diplomacy performing enthusiasm, it was two men who genuinely couldn't resist a game when one was on offer.


- Monodeep Dey