How sports biographies are hooking the youth on reading

Sports biographies connect ‘youth’ to reading, powerfully.

My home has its share of cricket, football and lawn tennis biographies. The largest number of course, are the cricket ones; with recent ones such as R Ashwin’s I Have the Streets, Shikhar Dhawan’s The One: Cricket, My Life and More and the rather interesting book by Cheteshwar Pujara’s better half, The Diary of a Cricketer's Wife - : A Very Unusual Memoir, all being very interesting reads.

I absolutely love the idea that despite the fact that cricket is a game with billions of ‘live’ fans, cricketers themselves recognize the roleof biographies in cementing their legacy. Consequently, they have single-handedly inspired many youngsters to pick up books- much gratitude is owed to the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Rahul Dravid and their ilk for their undeniable magnetism.

In today’s column, we talk about three unusual sporting biographies that I found interesting, ahead of National Sports Day- 29th August- which we celebrate to mark the birthday of the Indian hockey legend, Dhyan Chand.

“Anywhere But Home” by Anu Vaidyanathan is a candid memoir chronicling her journey as the first Asian woman to finish Ultraman Canada-a punishing 10-kilometer swim, a 420-kilometer bike ride, and an 84.4-kilometer run!As she followed her passion on the roads of Bangalore and across several Indian cities, coaches advised her to get married.

Her persistence shines through as shefaced challenges ranging from training in sports facilities lacking basic amenities to questioning societal norms about marriage and life. With wit and self-deprecating humour, Vaidyanathan describes overcoming limitations, embracing endurance sports, managing a PhD, entrepreneurship, and motherhood. Love for sports takes its toll and thats what the book is all about.

“Enter the Dangal” by Rudraneil Sengupta is an exploration of Indian wrestling. From the Great Gama to Sushil Kumar — whose two Olympic medals yanked the kushti out of rural obscurity and on to TV screens — and the many, many pehalwans in between, Enter the Dangal goes behind the scenes to the akharas that quietly defy urbanization and yet have evolved from ancient tradition- it had pride of place in the courts of Chalukya kings and Mughal emperors- to modern sport.

The book also highlights intrepid women wrestlers, and provides a vivid account of how wrestling shapes rural communities. Rich in history and firsthand experience, it is a celebration of kushti’s enduring legacy and the passion that keeps the sport alive.

Bhiwani Junction by Shamya Dasgupta uncovers the fascinating journey of Indian boxing- and the power of an Olympic medal to fuel a sport. The dusty Haryana town of Bhiwani, now synonymous with sporting excellence provides an apt setting for boxing’s rise from obscurity and colonial roots to national success! Dasgupta explores the forces shaping Indian boxing—regional rivalries, institutional neglect, and relentless ambition—while portraying colorful personalities and grassroots struggles. The state of Manipur and the Indian Army’s relationship with boxing are insightful. The book is both a celebration of the sport’s achievements and in places asharp critique of its administrative challenges.

Reiterating the power of sports biographies, they bring the youth to books, in a way like no other category does. Army man and hockey superstar Dhyan Chand's autobiography titled "Goal" was published in 1952. In the present time, many biographies of this great player are available in multiple languages. Why not devour them?

Reeta Ramamurthy Gupta is a columnist and bestselling biographer. She is credited with the internationally acclaimed Red Dot Experiment, a decadal six-nation study on how ‘culture impacts communication.’ Asia's first reading coach, you can find her on Instagram @OfficialReetaGupta.