Chelsea Celebrity Fans: Anant Tyagi

Chelsea fan and one of India’s foremost sports anchors, Anant Tyagi celebrates his birthday on the 23rd of November. Tyagi is often known as the voice of Indian Football, having been the lead on the broadcasts of the Indian Super League since its inception in 2014.

A Chelsea fan, Tyagi’s tryst with broadcasting began in the 2013-14 season, when he was a Hindi commentator for the entire Premier League season. By his own admission, Tyagi’s support for Chelsea happened just because he wanted to stand out among a group of Manchester United fans in his childhood.

“I’ve always wanted to separate myself from the pack, to do things a little differently from the rest,” he once said in an interview.

Almost as if written in the stars, Tyagi’s Premier League broadcasting career began with a Chelsea game, against Hull City at Stamford Bridge. Goals from Oscar and Frank Lampard gave Chelsea a 2-0 win in that match to open the season, in which they ultimately finished third.

After a season calling football in England, Tyagi returned to India to headline the broadcast of the Indian Super League, which launched in 2014.

After stints in the Hindi commentary box, and the English studio shows, Tyagi eventually became the first Indian commentator to lead the English live broadcast of the matches.

Tyagi is also mostly the lead commentator for the matches of the Indian National Team, and delivered an iconic moment behind the mic, in an Asian Cup Qualifier in June 2017.

His words after Sunil Chhetri scored for India against Kyrgyzstan at the Kanteerava Stadium, are still regarded as one of the most iconic moments for the Blue Tigers in recent years.

In addition, Tyagi also followed the Blue Tigers in the United Arab Emirates in January 2019, as they narrowly missed out on qualification for the knockout stages, conceding a late penalty in their last game against Bahrain.

Tyagi has presented shows for the ISL and the Indian Premier League in both English and Hindi, and has also covered a lot of other sports as well. During the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, Tyagi was also on duty as a Hindi commentator.

In recent months, Tyagi has also appeared on Premier League TV’s international broadcasts on the show “Premier League Today”, even once alongside iconic Premier League commentator Peter Drury.

In addition, the Chelsea fan is also the host of a new show for the Indian viewers titled “Certified Chelsea”. The show aims to bring the Blues closer to their large group of fans in India, and they have found the perfect host in one of India’s foremost sports anchors.