Root for the real champions

Dipa Karmakar. File pics

How do you put together a book about India's modern sporting champs? Does it depend on the number of medals won at international competitions? Do we ditch the awards cabinet, and instead focus on the blood-sweat-tears template as the benchmark? Or should the impact of the sportsperson's achievements on lay Indians be considered a factor? Tanushree Podder's Golden Sportspersons (HarperCollins India) is a mix of all of the above. She picks the stories of 32 sportspersons across disciplines.

As we write this review, boxer Nikhat Zareen is battling Wu Yu, a top-seeded Chinese opponent in the 50kg category at the 2024 Paris Olympics. For a change, Indians in offices and on their commute are tracking updates for non-cricket sports. This book's release is in sync, and Zareen's journey to being one of India's leading women pugilists makes for a fascinating read. It's bound to egg young kids, girls especially. Likewise, there are heartwarming accounts of those who shone quietly - heptathlete Swapna Barman, triple jumper Eldhose Paul. Most faced countless battles, especially if they hailed from low-income homes. Theirs are the stories that readers will find enriching.

Sakshi Malik and Nikhat Zareen

The curation leans towards women performers, which we love; however, the list leaves out key disciplines (tennis and squash) and its stars (Sania, Paes, Bhupathi, Bopanna, Ghosal, Pallikal and Chinappa). The inclusion of cricket is a downer and, in some measure, weakens what this book could have achieved - to celebrate non-cricket sportspersons who are forgotten in non-Olympic, non-Asian Games and non-Commonwealth Games years. Lifter Achinta Sheuli didn't deserve to be here, given that he was expelled from the Paris Olympics training camp for entering the women's hostel at night.

Wrestler Sakshi Malik's daring stand against her federation would have made for a gritty salute to her equally gritty sporting journey. Since these stories are not in-person or in interview format, perhaps their mantras on sport for aspirants would have lent a personalised touch to end each chapter. The illustrated portraits by Pallavi Jain are arresting, but this book is about sport, where action is key. A similar style to interpret the sportsperson in action would have hit home harder.

By the time we are done writing this, Nikhat Zareen has lost the bout.This book's heart is in the right place: to remind India of its sporting talent, and that it is important to back them, even on a day they lose.

AVAILABLE Leading bookstores and e-bookstores
COST Rs 699