Leslie Xavier

Leslie Xavier

Position: Senior Fellow (Sports Policies)
Categories: Fellows

A life spent in and around sports and the written words, Leslie Xavier has successfully merged two of his passions into a 15-year career in journalism. He has been associated with three of the leading newspapers in the country—The New Indian Express, The Times of India and Hindustan Times—besides serving a long stint at Sports Illustrated. A globally renowned sports writer—having been listed as one of the top 10 columnists in Asia and the world on multiple occasions by the International Sports Press Association—he is currently based in New Delhi and heads the sports desk at Newsclick.in. Before his career in journalism and a deep and lasting affair with poetry, Leslie, who holds a Master’s degree in physics, had a three-year spell as a higher secondary science teacher. Prior to that, he had a successful but injury-curtailed career as a national wrestler, judoka and an international karate fighter.