HarperCollins Publishers India
Published: 2015-07-10
Total Pages: 358
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Sporting icons Sachin, Yuvraj and Mary Kom are role models and symbols of hope for millions of Indians. The true stories behind these legends. Unbreakable: India's best known boxer, five times World Champion and an Olympic medallist, Mary Kom tells the moving and inspiring story of her life with surprising honesty. My years of hard work, the refusal to give up, pushing every boundary there was. The thrill, the joy of winning, the successes. The Olympic bronze, my most prized possession. And boxing, the sport I gave myself to. All of it is real. I was the David who took on the Goliaths in the boxing ring - and I won, most of the time.' Born to parents who were landless agricultural labourers in the state of Manipur in Northeast India, Mary's story is one of relentless struggle and unflagging passion for boxing. A childhood of hard labour prepared her body for the sport as well as any fitness training might have. Her own will and aggression carried her through the minefield of politics that any sport in India is. Nimble of foot and pulling no punches, the boxing ring was her domain. M.C. Mary Kom is not yet ready to call it a day, but here she tells her story so far, no holds barred - her tough childhood, her rebellions and how she held her own in the male world of boxing. It's all packed into this inspiring, exhilarating tale of a woman who faced impossible odds in a man's world - and won. If Cricket Is a Religion, Sachin Is God: With hundred centuries and over 34,000 runs in international cricket, Sachin Tendulkar, the highest run-getter in both Tests and ODIs, is the God of the religion called cricket. His exploits on the field have brought hope and joy to millions of fans. And yet, like God, he has his set of detractors always willing to remove him from the pedestal. In this revised and updated edition, the authors, who consider themselves fans and analysts in equal measure, follow the career of the cricketing demigod - his advent, his peak, his fall, his resurrection and, finally, his retirement. They also talk about India's sensational WC 2011 triumph and Tendulkar's decision to retire from international cricket. Armed with irrefutable statistical data, which they contextualize and analyse with rigour, the authors seek to end all debate on Tendulkar's status as the greatest cricketer of the modern era. They compare him with his peers in both forms of the game, and provide the viewpoint of experts, players and commentators, so that the reader can independently draw conclusions. And if you still don't believe that Sachin is God's gift to the world of cricket, well, God help you!Yuvi: No Indian player has captured the imagination of cricket-lovers in the way that Yuvraj Singh has over the past decade. Fiery batsman, deceptive bowler, brilliant fielder, Yuvraj has been in the news for his remarkable skills with bat and ball, his glamorous lifestyle off the field and, more recently, for his courageous battle against a life-threatening illness. In this first ever account of its kind, veteran journalist and cricket administrator Makarand Wagainkar, who has known Yuvraj practically since the day he was born, recalls the rise of the young cricketer, his early years, the tremendous highs and depressing lows in his tumultuous career. With inputs from Yuvraj's parents, his friends, peers and senior players, and written with a rare insight and affection for his subject, this is an eminently readable account of a young cricketer's life, from the earliest days to his triumphant crowning as the World Cup champion in 2011.