Shaiju Damodaran (born 7 February 1973) is an Indian sports commentator, sports journalist and columnist who, as of 2022, is the leading
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...
commentator for
Star network (Malayalam) on their
Indian Super League
The Indian Super League (ISL) is an Indian professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Indian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Organised by the All India Football Federat ...
(ISL) coverage. , he has commentated on more than 500 ISL games, which is the highest by any commentators in any language in the ISL.
Early life and career
Shaiju Damodaran is the son of A. I. Damodaran and Lalitha Damodaran. He attended high school at
Ochanthuruth
Ochanthuruth is one of the villages in Vypin, an island in Ernakulam district, Kerala, India. It is on the southern part of Vypin.
Geography
It is located at Vypin Island of Ernakulam District.
Location
Ochanthuruth is 3 miles (5 km) nor ...
and completed his
pre-degree at
The Cochin College, Kochi, then studied for a
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
in
economics
Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...
at
St. Paul's College, Kalamassery
St. Paul's College, Kalamassery located at Kochi (India), Kochi was founded by Joseph Attipetty, the late Archbishop of Verapoly to commemorate the historic visit of Pope Paul VI to India in connection with the 38th International Eucharistic Con ...
. He later completed a
Post-Graduate Diploma
A postgraduate diploma (PgD, PgDip, PGDip, PG Dip., PGD, Dipl. PG, PDE) is a postgraduate qualification awarded after a university degree, which supplements the original degree and awards them with a graduate diploma. Countries that award postg ...
in journalism and mass communication at
Kerala Media Academy, Kochi.
In 1995, Shaiju started working as a journalist at ''
Mathrubhumi
''Mathrubhumi'' is a Malayalam newspaper that is published from Kerala, India. It was founded by K. P. Kesava Menon, an active volunteer in the Indian independence movement, Indian freedom struggle against the British Raj, British. The word "M ...
'' in
Kochi
Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...
, specializing in
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
and
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
, and later became a senior sub-editor. After working for 20 years, he resigned from ''Mathrubhumi'' to work as a special correspondent for Kochi-based firm ''
Mangalam Publications
Mangalam Publications (India) Private Limited, is an Indian publishing company in Kottayam, Kerala, India. It publishes online daily newspaper and weekly magazines such as ''Mangalam Weekly'', '' Kanyaka'' and ''Cinema Mangalam'' in Malayalam. ...
'' in 2015. , Shaiju works as a sports journalist; he has covered 10
Santosh Trophy National Football Championships, more than 400 ISL games, national and international cricket matches including the
Ranji Trophy
The Ranji Trophy (also known as Mastercard Ranji Trophy for sponsorship reasons) is a domestic first-class cricket championship played in India between multiple teams representing regional and state cricket associations. Board of Control for Cr ...
,
Deodhar Trophy
The Deodhar Trophy, also known as Mastercard Devdhar trophy due to sponsorship reasons (also spelled Devdhar Trophy), is a List A cricket domestic cricket tournament of India. It is named after D. B. Deodhar (known as the Grand Old Man of Indian ...
and
Duleep Trophy
The Duleep Trophy, also known as Mastercard Duleep trophy due to sponsorship reasons, is a domestic first-class cricket competition played in India. Named after Kumar Shri Duleepsinhji of Nawanagar (also known as 'Duleep'), the competition wa ...
. He has also covered all of the
One Day International
A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World C ...
cricket games in Kochi.
Commentary career
Shaiju started his career as a sports commentator in 2012, covering the 2012
Celebrity Cricket League
The Celebrity Cricket League (CCL) is an amateur men's cricket league in India. It consists of nine teams of film actors from nine major regional film industries of Indian cinema. The league commenced in 2011. Salman Khan is Brand Ambassador f ...
(CCL) season, which he covered for the next two seasons. He was chosen as the leading commentator in Malayalam for the inaugural season of the ISL. Ahead of the
ICC Cricket World Cup 2015
The 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup was the 11th Cricket World Cup, a quadrennial One Day International (ODI) cricket tournament contested by men's national teams and organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was jointly hosted by Aust ...
, Star Network decided to include Malayalam commentary and Shaiju was engaged as the leading commentator. In 2017, he became the first person to complete 200 matches as an ISL commentator.
In the same year, he commentated for the
2017 ICC Champions Trophy
The 2017 ICC Champions Trophy was the eighth ICC Champions Trophy, a cricket tournament for the eight top-ranked One Day International (ODI) teams in the world. It was held in England and Wales from 1 to 18 June 2017. Pakistan won the competitio ...
's final between India and Pakistan. In 2018,
Sony ESPN
Sony ESPN was an Indian pay television sports channel which was a joint venture between ESPN Inc. and Sony Pictures Networks India. The channel targeted the Indian subcontinent including India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. It was part of th ...
engaged Shaiju as the leading Malayalam commentator for the
FIFA World Cup in Russia; it was the first Malayalam commentary of a
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
. During the tournament, Shaiju's commentary of
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains the Portugal national team. He is currently a free agent. Widely regarded as one of the greatest p ...
’s 87th-minute free-kick goal against Spain captured the attention of football fans across the globe and became viral on social media.
In January 2019, Shaiju later did the Malayalam commentary for the
2019 AFC Asian Cup
The 2019 AFC Asian Cup was the 17th edition of the AFC Asian Cup, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Asia organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It was held in the United Arab Emirates from 5 January to 1 ...
, which was held in the
UAE
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
. He also commentated for India's numerous friendly football games. In December 2020, he recreated the commentary for
Diego Maradona
Diego Armando Maradona (; 30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two joint winners of the FI ...
's 'Goal of the Century' in the
1986 FIFA World Cup
The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia ha ...
in Malayalam by the request of
Victor Hugo Morales
The name Victor or Viktor may refer to:
* Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname
Arts and entertainment
Film
* ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film
* ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...
, and had aired in
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
through
Radio AM 750.
Commentary style
Shaiju's commentary style consists of energetic phrases peppered with aberrant uses and one-liners. He usually intersperses his commentary with famous dialogue from movies. Shaiju has said his reaction is automatic and he uses a mix of language in his commentary, saying; "It comes naturally to me when the action calls for it. It’s an emotional display rather than a verbal expression. I think people like it".
Fascinated with Shaiju's commentary on Ronaldo's free-kick goal,
Mahindra Group
Mahindra Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate, headquartered in Mumbai. The group has operations in over 100 countries, with a presence in aerospace, agribusiness, aftermarket automotive components, construction equipment, defenc ...
executive chairman
Anand Mahindra
Anand Gopal Mahindra (born 1 May 1955) is an Indian billionaire businessman, and the chairman of Mahindra Group, a Mumbai-based business conglomerate. The group operates in aerospace, agribusiness, aftermarket, automotive, components, construc ...
tweeted:
Ok that’s it. I’m switching to this channel with commentary in Malayalam. No, I don’t understand the language but I don’t need to—these guys are so pumped up they make the English & Hindi commentators sound tame!
Controversy
In November 2022, Shaiju Damodaran kissed the foot of
Kerala Blasters
Kerala Blasters Football Club (), commonly referred to as The Blasters, is an Indian professional football club based in Kochi, Kerala, that competes in the Indian Super League, the top tier of football in India. The club was established i ...
midfielder
Ivan Kalyuzhnyi during an interview and said the kiss was not from him, but from Keralites which sparked a controversy. The incident evoked sharp reactions on social media platforms.
Personal life
Shaiju is married to Asha and the couple lives in
Kaloor
Kaloor is a downtown region in the city of Kochi, in the state of Kerala, India. It is from the Ernakulam North Railway Station. Kaloor Junction is also the name of a major intersection in this part of the city, intersecting the two major art ...
, Kochi, with their children Abhinov and Adhinov.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaiju
Living people
1973 births
Indian male journalists
Indian sports broadcasters
Indian cricket commentators
Journalists from Kerala
Association football commentators
Indian columnists