Book: Shuttling to the top: The story of P.V. Sindhu
Author: V. Krishnaswamy
Publisher: HarperCollins
Price: Rs 399

Back in 2015, as India was gearing up for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, the legendary shuttler, Prakash Padukone, had proclaimed that Indian badminton was in its “golden period”. With Saina Nehwal occupying the then top spot in the world ranking for women’s singles and several male players in the top 50, badminton in India was indeed enjoying its moment in the sun. The crowning glory, however, was to come with P.V. Sindhu — the subject of this rather bland biography by the sports journalist, V. Krishnaswamy — winning a silver medal at the Games.

Shuttling to the Top portrays Sindhu — the youngest and only female Indian shuttler to win silver at the Olympics — as a player of prodigious talent whose relentless drive and exceptional agility earned her such honours as the BWF World Championships, the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games. But talent, no matter how extraordinary, needs guidance and it is the unflinching dedication of her father, P.V. Ramana, a former volleyball champion and Arjuna awardee, that guides her towards her goals. The book is a moving account of the father’s sacrifices to fulfil the daughter’s dreams. Little wonder then that Sindhu got to train with the best in the business: Mahboob Ali, Nani Prasad Rao and P. Gopichand.

Shuttling to the top: The story of P.V. Sindhu by V. Krishnaswamy, HarperCollins, Rs 399 Amazon

Krishnaswamy insists that no other player has performed as consistently at big sporting events: Sindhu reached the finals eight times in 10 such events since the Rio Olympics. Yet Shuttling to the Top depicts Sindhu to be almost faultless, blessed with an unprecedented clarity of vision at a remarkably young age.

Heroines are important; they are figures of inspiration. But adulation does not sit well with a narrative, especially one by a journalist. Such embellishment could lead to Sindhu the Star eclipsing Sindhu the Person.