Dreams of a Billion

Dreams of a Billion PDF

Author: Boria Majumdar

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 2020-01-24

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 9353576016

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As India gears up for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the country will focus once again on the moments of glory we have had on the largest sports arena in the world, featuring such stalwarts as Abhinav Bindra, Mary Kom and PV Sindhu. But it will also be time to ask again the question we ask ourselves every four years: why does a country of a billion plus have so little to show for itself at the Olympics?Dreams of a Billion gives the reader an inside view of what goes on backstage in the Indian Olympics world, alongside a quick history of how India has fared at the Olympics over the past century, and a look at how the Indian Olympics world has changed in the last decade. Which brings us to the question: How good is India's preparation for Tokyo 2020? Can Tokyo be the gamechanger Indian sport wants it to be and hopes it will be?

India and the Olympics

India and the Olympics PDF

Author: Boria Majumdar

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2009-05-07

Total Pages: 511

ISBN-13: 1135275742

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In most accounts of Olympic history across the world, India's Olympic journey is a mere footnote. This book is a corrective. Drawing on newly available and hitherto unused archival sources, it demonstrates that India was an important strategic outpost in the Olympic movement that started as a global phenomenon at the turn of the twentieth century. Among the questions the authors answer are: When and how did the Olympic ideology take root in India? Who were the early players and why did they appropriate Olympic sport to further their political ambitions? What explains India's eight consecutive gold medals in Olympic men’s hockey between 1928 and 1956 and what altered the situation drastically, so much so that the team failed to qualify for the 2008 Beijing Games? India and the Olympics also explores why the Indian elite became obsessed with the Olympic ideal at the turn of the twentieth century and how this obsession relates to India's quest for a national and international identity. It conclusively validates the contention that the essence of Olympism does not reside in medals won, records broken or television rights sold as ends in themselves. Particularly for India, the Olympic movement, including the relevant records and statistics, is important because it provides a unique prism to understand the complex evolution of modern Indian society.

Olympics -The India Story

Olympics -The India Story PDF

Author: No Author

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 2012-06-18

Total Pages: 358

ISBN-13: 9350295091

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'A pioneering and long-awaited book ... a delightful read' -Hindustan Times 'The first detailed history of India's Olympic experience ... a valuable addition to contemporary knowledge'-India Today When and how did the Olympic movement take root in India? Who were the early players and why did they appropriate Olympic sport to further their political ambitions? In most accounts of Olympic history across the world, India's Olympic journey is a mere footnote. Olympics: The India Story sets that right. Drawing on previously unused archival sources, it demonstrates that India was an important strategic outpost in the Olympic family. It explores why the Indian elite became obsessed with the Olympic ideal at the turn of the twentieth century and how this relates to India's quest for a meaningful role on the international stage. First published to critical acclaim in 2008, this revised edition includes a new, incisive chapter on India's medal prospects at the London Olympics, thus bringing India's Olympic story up-to-date.

India At The Olympics

India At The Olympics PDF

Author: Seetha Natesh

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 2021-02-20

Total Pages: 96

ISBN-13: 9354220185

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"This book will inspire the younger generation to be like our sporting heroes by helping them take up sports and make it a daily part of their life." Sakshi Malik, Bronze Medallist, Rio 2016 India at the Olympics celebrates 100 years of Indian athletes' participation in the world's biggest sporting event. Packed with rare images and colourful illustrations, this unique book: Traces the incredible history of the Olympics from the time of the Ancient Greek Olympics to its present, modern-day avatar Focuses on India's 100-year participation - its achievements and records Includes profiles of India's biggest sporting legends such as Dhyan Chand, PT Usha, Karnam Malleswari, Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu, Mary Kom, Abhinav Bindra and Leander Paes among others. A visual treat for sports enthusiasts of all ages!

India's Olympic Renaissance & The road to Paris 2024

India's Olympic Renaissance & The road to Paris 2024 PDF

Author: Bipin Menon

Publisher: BFC Publications

Published: 2021-12-10

Total Pages: 111

ISBN-13: 9355090714

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India’s exhilarating performance at the Tokyo Olympics provides us with much room for optimism across various disciplines. The book has focused on this performance by our star sportspersons, the existing sporting infrastructure, the outstanding performance of the Games and how India should look at strengthening is existing institutions and explore new disciplines to deliver consistent results at the pantheon of sports, the Olympics. With the right tweaking and strategies, we can surely ensure that India enters into the annals of sporting powerhouses and performs consistently well at the Olympics. I am sure the book would be useful for sports buffs, sport administrators, sportspersons and the private sector which is involved in sports development.

Dreams of a Billion

Dreams of a Billion PDF

Author: Boria Majumdar

Publisher: Harpersport

Published: 2020-01-25

Total Pages: 370

ISBN-13: 9789353576707

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As India gears up for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the country will focus once again on the moments of glory we've had on the world's largest sports arena, featuring such stalwarts as Abhinav Bindra, Mary Kom and P.V. Sindhu. But it will also be time to ask again the question we ask ourselves every four years: why does a country of a billion plus have so little to show for itself at the Olympics? Dreams of a Billion gives the reader an inside view of what goes on backstage in the Indian Olympics world alongside a quick history of how India has fared at the Olympics over the past century and a look at how the Indian Olympics world has changed in the last decade. Which brings us to the question: How good is India's preparation for Tokyo 2020? Can Tokyo be the game changer Indian sport wants it to be and hopes it will be?

Nation at Play

Nation at Play PDF

Author: Ronojoy Sen

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2015-10-27

Total Pages: 397

ISBN-13: 0231539932

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Reaching as far back as ancient times, Ronojoy Sen pairs a novel history of India's engagement with sport and a probing analysis of its cultural and political development under monarchy and colonialism, and as an independent nation. Some sports that originated in India have fallen out of favor, while others, such as cricket, have been adopted and made wholly India's own. Sen's innovative project casts sport less as a natural expression of human competition than as an instructive practice reflecting a unique play with power, morality, aesthetics, identity, and money. Sen follows the transformation of sport from an elite, kingly pastime to a national obsession tied to colonialism, nationalism, and free market liberalization. He pays special attention to two modern phenomena: the dominance of cricket in the Indian consciousness and the chronic failure of a billion-strong nation to compete successfully in international sporting competitions, such as the Olympics. Innovatively incorporating examples from popular media and other unconventional sources, Sen not only captures the political nature of sport in India but also reveals the patterns of patronage, clientage, and institutionalization that have bound this diverse nation together for centuries.

My Olympic Journey

My Olympic Journey PDF

Author: Digvijay Singh Deo

Publisher: Random House India

Published: 2016-07-02

Total Pages: 376

ISBN-13: 9386057514

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Chronicling the stories of fifty of India's leading Olympians for the first time ever in one comprehensive edition, Digvijay Singh Deo and Amit Bose bring you the Games through the eyes of some of the best sportspersons in the country. These first-person accounts of Olympic medalists from 1948 till 2012, such as Balbir Singh, Leander Paes, Karnam Malleswari, Abhinav Bindra and Sushil Kumar, and pioneers like Milkha Singh, P.T. Usha, Anjali Bhagwat, reveal their hopes, superstitions, grit and challenges. Their experiences and interactions are sure to make you laugh, shed a tear and, most importantly, open your eyes to the struggles they had to endure to reach the Olympics. These personal stories give a close-up view of what it means to represent India at the most prestigious sporting event in the world, making you a part of the soaring glory and shattering disappointment that only an Olympic Games can deliver. With photos from the personal archives of each athlete, this is a front-row seat to the privileged Olympic experience.

A Shot At History

A Shot At History PDF

Author: Rohit Brijnath

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 2011-10-11

Total Pages: 252

ISBN-13: 9350292963

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Abhinav Bindra once shot 100 out of 100 in practice six times in a row and walked out of the range unhappy. He is a perfectionist who once soled his shoes with rubber from Ferrari tyres because he thought it would help. He would wake up at 3 am to practise at his range at home if an idea suddenly struck him. It is from such obsession that greatness arrives. Abhinav Bindra's journey to become the first Indian to win an individual Olympic gold, and the first Indian to win a World Championship gold, is a story of single-minded passion. The Olympics has been an all-consuming journey for him ever since he was shattering beer bottles and glass ampoules in his garden in Chandigarh. No obstacle was too hard to overcome, no amount of practice too much, no experiment too futile and no defeat so severe that it made a comeback impossible. Shattered by his failure at the 2004 Athens Olympics when a gold medal seemed imminent, he changed as a shooter: from a boy who loved shooting, he became an athlete bent on redemption, a scientist who would try anything - from mapping his own brain to drinking yak milk to climbing rock walls - to win at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. His victory was not just a personal triumph, it was a gift to his nation, a breaking down of a sporting barrier that had stood for a century. Bindra's feat has taught his peers, and those yet to come, that an Olympic gold isn't an impossible dream. In ranges, on fields, in arenas, Indian athletes now own a new belief, they wear the knowledge that no challenge is beyond them. Helping to tell this remarkable story is sportswriter Rohit Brijnath, who collaborated with Bindra in producing this compelling autobigraphy of one of India's greatest sportsmen.