Shail Desai is a freelance writer based in Mumbai. Over the last decade, he has been following the latest in sports and the outdoors. He was awarded the Red Ink Award in 2018 for his story on football in Kashmir that was commissioned by Mint. He is an engineer and lawyer by qualification, degrees that taught him that he wasn’t cut out for either. Writing has taken him places and the thrill of the chase is what he enjoys the most. In the past, he has held full-time positions at The Times of India, Hindustan Times and Hotstar. Freelance writing has handed him the liberty of travelling and chasing the stories that have his interest. Besides conventional sports, he has a special interest in endurance sports such as ultra running, mountaineering, trail running, open water swimming and adventure sports, and is in awe of athletes who pursue these disciplines. He is at home in the mountains and looks for the next excuse to travel there, preferably for extended periods of time. He wants to be a lifelong student of writing.