A truly inspiration novel, T S Sudhir’s ‘An Inspirational Biography’ traces the life of Saina, a small town girl from Hisar to Hyderabad.
It’s interesting to learn that badmintonwas not Sania’s first love…it was karate! But the love for Karate’s was lostand as a bubbly school student Saina was enrolled in a badminton coaching class.The rest as they say is history!
T S Sudhir does well to trace Saina’s lifefrom the time she was a gurgling child who witnessed her parents play badmintonto a time when Saina is all set and poised to play at the London Olympics 2012.As one travels with the Nehwal family, one reads about the struggle her parentshad to endure to pay Saina’s monthly badminton fee of Rs 100…to the days whenSaina travelled to training coaches and camps on a scooter, at times carryingtwo bags--one her badminton kit and the other her school bag. As Sudhir tracesthe growth of the champ, he also weaves a delicate line through the changesSaina’s parents made in their life to keep their daughter happy andcomfortable, which includes buying a car, so make their daughter journeyeasier. As Sania grows up, one is introduced to bitter-sweet moments, ofromance, of passion for the game, to living out of suitcases and messyrooms. It’s not always easy to tell a story of a simple girl from a smalltown who fights against all odds, but the book does sell a dream, a dream thathopefully will give birth to many more Saina’s.
What stands out through the 261 pagesis Saina’s grit, her relationship with her mother who sets an almost militantlike discipline for the rising star, and her admiration and complete trust inGopichand, her mentor. The book also traces the life of Gopichand in bits andpieces. Here’s one interesting episode that talks about Saina’s faith in Gopi.I quote from the book, “It’s Chinese NewYear’s Day in 2005. It is a date Saina won’t forget. She went from being avegetarian to being a non-vegetarian in the course of a meal in China onlybecause Gopichand told her to. “We were in Hangzhou and it was the Chinese NewYear’s Day and no vegetarian fare was available. I took her to a restaurant andtold her to eat fish and crab. Till then she had been a vegetarian all herlife. I said she had to eat it. And to my surprise, she ate. No questionsasked. She couldn’t even open her mouth, but she ate,” …Later she was toconfess she ate only because her guru told her to.”
Like all biographies, this one tootalks of grit, determination and dedication, but it lacks in delivery anddoesn’t leave the reader completely satiated. But yes, at the end, theone characteristic you want to imbibe from Saina is her never-say-overattitude.
