Aishwarya Kumar

The blessing and curse of UCLA's Lauren Betts' 6-7 height Lauren Betts was called an alien, a giraffe. Now she's ready to dominate -- not for the bullies, for herself -- as UCLA goes for its first NCAA title.

@kumaraishwarya.bsky.social Just read you espn story about Lauren Betts... Thank you for writing such a wonderful story. I will be rooting for UCLA in this tournament !!! www.espn.com/womens-colle...

Why astronaut Suni Williams runs in space: a 14-billion-year odyssey Suni Williams' eight-day mission turned into a nine-month marathon. Now the astronaut is days away from leaving the International Space Station and returning to Earth.

Why astronaut Suni Williams runs in space: a 14-billion-year odyssey

www.espn.com/espn/story/_...

Why astronaut Suni Williams runs in space: a 14-billion-year odyssey Suni Williams' eight-day mission turned into a nine-month marathon. Now the astronaut is days away from leaving the International Space Station and returning to Earth.

Astronaut Suni Williams, in space, running on a treadmill, in the #ISS. This story by Aish Kumar is an experience not to be missed. www.espn.com/espn/story/_...

Thank you so much!

It was a joy to welcome four journalists whose work is featured in The Best Sports Writing 2024— @janesports.bsky.social, @sethwickersham.bsky.social, @kumaraishwarya.bsky.social & @samborden.bsky.social— to Central Connecticut State to speak with our journalism students. Thank you for inspiring us!

Why astronaut Suni Williams runs in space: a 14-billion-year odyssey Suni Williams' eight-day mission turned into a nine-month marathon. Now the astronaut is days away from leaving the International Space Station and returning to Earth.

This piece by @kumaraishwarya.bsky.social is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever read. Three cheers for her, #SuniWilliams, #SpaceExploration, and the sacrifices people make for the future www.espn.com/espn/story/_...

Pitt volleyball chases history with a hunter's mindset With an innovative coach, a powerful lineup and a hunter mindset, top-seeded Pittsburgh looks ready to win its first national title.

This is your reading material before the start of the NCAA Tournament.

@kumaraishwarya.bsky.social has written the Pitt Volleyball feature story that I’ve wanted to see for a long time.

Fantastic insight into the culture that has made Pitt into the #1 team.

www.espn.com/college-spor...

Can Madisen Skinner lead Texas volleyball to a three-peat? Madisen Skinner's volleyball ascent was fast -- maybe too fast. After an up-and-down season, she looks to elevate Texas from a No. 3 seed to a three-peat NCAA champion.

Three-time national champion Madi Skinner is great at volleyball. But what if the thing you're great at is sometimes just a job?

A reluctant star, an endangered dynasty and rekindled hope.

Spent the past three months on this one:

www.espn.com/college-spor...

Inside San Jose State's polarizing volleyball season A controversial volleyball season that has included protests, forfeits and lawsuits over a player who is said to be transgender gets its next chapter this week at the Mountain West tournament.

Since late September, I’ve been immersed in Mountain West volleyball. There have been protests, lawsuits, and forfeits in response to a transgender player said to be on one team’s roster. This is the story of the season. www.espn.com/college-spor...

Make Your Volleyball Championship Challenge Picks Play ESPN's Volleyball Championship Challenge for FREE and make your picks.

Another sign of the growth of volleyball: ESPN is hosting a NCAA Tournament bracket challenge.

fantasy.espn.com/games/womens...

This place has big coffee shop inside a bookstore vibes and I’m here for it

Love and Volleyball: The golden but lonely road of Jordan Larson As gold medalist Jordan Larson endured the death of her mom and the end of two marriages, volleyball was her constant. So what happens after her final Olympics?

Spent five months this year understanding what it costs to become the best at your sport.

The result: Love and volleyball — the golden but lonely road of Jordan Larson (This will always be a really special one).

www.espn.com/olympics/sto...

Thank you so so much!

The prodigy and the protégé: The pain of 'Baby Jordan' and the power of Kami Miner Harold Miner spent years agonizing over his unrealized NBA dreams. When his young daughter started doing 30-inch box jumps, he became her guide, and she became his healer. Now, Kami Miner looks to lea...

Last year, I spent months with Harold Miner, a former NBA star who retired from the sport at 25 & disappeared from the public eye. I wanted to understand what sport took from him & what it gave them both. The resulting 6K-word story made The Year's Best Sports Writing.

www.espn.com/college-spor...

Inside the chess cheating scandal and the fight for the soul of the game The Hans Niemann-Magnus Carlsen feud sheds light on the growing crisis that artifcial intelligence poses to chess -- and puts the future of the game in doubt.

Remember the viral chess cheating scandal in 2022? Never did I think I'd use the words "anal beads" in an ESPN feature.

If you somehow missed it, I went to St. Louis and wrote about it: www.espn.com/espn/story/_...

Why Chanel Miller's voice is so important in combating toxic sports culture From anonymous to activist, the survivor of sexual assault by a Stanford swimmer says she'll continue to raise her voice.

Spent two days in Brooklyn with the inimitable Chanel Miller and profiled her for ESPN

From survivor to activist, Chanel Miller is taking toxic sports culture to task

www.espn.com/espnw/story/...

Olympian Emily Infeld started receiving strange messages online. Then, her life changed forever For three years, elite distance runner Emily Infeld lived in fear of a stalker. This is the story of how the prime years of her career were interrupted -- and what happened to the man who threatened h...

Worked on this investigative piece with the legendary Paula Lavigne, from whom I learned so much. This one took many sleepless nights:

Olympian Emily Infeld started receiving strange messages online. Then her life changed forever.

www.espn.com/olympics/sto...

The grandmaster diet: How to lose weight while barely moving You wouldn't think that chess players, who sit for hours on end and extend their arms only from time to time, would struggle with weight loss. But they do. Inside the very real, very bizarre metabolic...

A few pieces I've written over the years if you're curious:

Back in 2018, I found out that grandmasters lost 10-20 pounds in one tournament. This story is singular, it's shocking & it's evergreen. For a long time I thought I couldn't do better than this story.

www.espn.com/espn/story/_...

Hello there!

Figured I’d introduce myself to Bluesky: I write long-form features for ESPN! I love covering the intersection of sports and immigration, culture, identity, mental health. I don’t have a beat but I love tennis, chess and volleyball (and write about the people that inhabit those sports extensively).

Any college volleyball enthusiasts here? Say hi!