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 cricket being a game with billions of ‘live’ fans, cricketers themselves recognize the role of biographies in cementing their legacy. They have single-handedly inspired many youngsters to pick up books! Much gratitude is owed to Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Rahul Dravid and their ilk for their undeniable magnetism, that extends to the reading habit too!

In today’s column, we talk about three unusual sporting biographies that I found interesting, ahead of National Sports Day- 29th August. This day is celebrated to mark the birthday of the Indian hockey legend, Dhyan Chand. Here are our three BookStrapping suggestions.

“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 by training on the roads of Bangalore and across several Indian cities, coaches advised her to get married instead! Her persistence shone through, as she faced 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. Clearly, a 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. They had pride of place in the courts of Chalukya kings and Mughal emperors. Their relevance in modern times is extremely interesting. The book also highlights intrepid women wrestlers, and provides a vivid account of how the sport has shaped 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 Vijender Singh's 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, a sharp critique of its administrative challenges.

One again, we would like to reiterate the power of sports biographies; they bring the youth to books, in a way like no other category does. A word of respect to army man and hockey superstar Dhyan Chand. His 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.