Hot on the Stands

“To put together a framework for our subject was a tough task, as we realised. More so as we had to decide about the ones we would write about prominently in this book. We didn’t want an exhaustive list based on sheer athletic merit. We have tried to put forward the stories of those women who stand out for being pioneers in their sport, and bringing greater meaning and dimension to their sport through their journey,” explain senior sports journalists Abhishek Dubey and Sanjeeb Mukherjea. In its 15 chapters, the book begins with Kerala’s golden girls — PT Usha, Shiny Wilson and MD Valsamma — and includes in its pages Ashwini Nachappa, Karnam Malleswari, Anju Bobby George, MC Mary Kom, Sania Mirza, Saina Nahiwal, PV Sindhu, Ashwini Ponnappa, Sakshi Malik, Deepa Malik and Hima Das. Santhi Soundarajan and Duttee Chand, whose gender had been called into question, feature in a common chapter, as do Dipa Karmakar and Deepika Kumar, who are largely responsible for bringing their states — Tripura and Jharkhand — into the limelight. An impressive line-up no doubt, but one sorely misses the likes of Ami Ghia, Shanta Rangaswamy, Diana Edulji, Jhulan Goswami, Indu Puri, Bula Choudhury, Bachendri Pal, Koneru Hampi and Anjali Bhagwat, to name just a few.

Publisher: Rupa | Pages: 285 | Price: Rs 295