Match Point - A Shuttler's Story

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Author:

Sanjay Sharma

Language:

English

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Inside these pages lies the story of a shuttler – but not just any shuttler. A sportsman of true grit, he has faced, fought and overcome unimaginable battles. How did a boy rise to become one of the widely known, ace badminton players of India, and smash down hardships that came his way? How did he protect his well-earned reputation from the wrongdoings of the then sports federation? And how has he, years later, kept the sportsman inside him alive, as he goes on to overcome health battles to unbelievable extents? Every word written to inspire, this is the story of a shuttler who never gives up.

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ISBN
978-93-90882-08-3
Pages
274
Avg Reading Time
9 hrs
Age
18+ yrs
Country of Origin
India

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About the Book

Inside these pages lies the story of a shuttler – but not just any shuttler. A sportsman of true grit, he has faced, fought and overcome unimaginable battles. How did a boy rise to become one of the widely known, ace badminton players of India, and smash down hardships that came his way? How did he protect his well-earned reputation from the wrongdoings of the then sports federation? And how has he, years later, kept the sportsman inside him alive, as he goes on to overcome health battles to unbelievable extents? Every word written to inspire, this is the story of a shuttler who never gives up.

Book Details

  • ISBN
    978-93-90882-08-3
  • Pages
    274
  • Avg Reading Time
    9 hrs
  • Age
    18+ yrs
  • Country of Origin
    India

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Customer Reviews

(1)

4 out of 5

Book

100%

16/01/2023

Lokeshna Bulani

At the point when competitors used to remain mum about their preparation, the brandishing framework and the experts in that framework or association, Sanjay Sharma chose to be forthright and vocal about it. Having addressed India in the field of badminton for north of 16 years as a player and a mentor, Sharma's collection of memoirs "Match Point — A Shuttler's Story" mirrors major areas of strength for him. Be it composing for the media while playing for the nation or being suspended and given a daily existence boycott by the then Badminton Relationship of India for expounding on them, Sharma has persevered through everything. Inside the quick 219-page long book lies the coarseness and assurance of a shuttler who faced various conflicts on and off the badminton court. The initial not many pages of the book begins with his ongoing battle against Caveroma in the spinal rope and his family support prior to beholding back to his profession in Indian badminton from 1975 to 1990 (as a player) and 1998-2003 (as a mentor). Among the few successes in his profession, Sharma feels that the success against Malaysia in the 1979 Asian Zone Thomas Cup finals in their home ground was the most essential. "Playing the primary pairs against the then World No. 2, Pradeep Gandhe and I worked out of our skin to cut a tremendous win, which assisted India with overcoming Malaysia interestingly," he states. While lamenting not bringing home the public singles championships in view of the presence of stalwarts like Prakash Padukone and Syed Modi, his appreciation towards the two players emerges all through the book. Valuing Padukone, Sharma monikers him the 'supervisor' while giving the perusers an inside and out point of view of the Indian badminton scene during the 1970s and 80s.

Match Point: A Shuttler's Story is not a triumphalist sports memoir. It is the account of an Indian badminton player who reached national prominence, then fought a second war—this time against the sports federation that threatened to destroy what he had built. The narrative moves between the shuttler's early rise, marked by discipline and sacrifice, and the institutional betrayal that forced him to defend his reputation in public. Years after retirement, the book reveals a third struggle: health battles that test whether the athlete's mental fortitude survives beyond the court. Published by Inkfeathers Publishing, the memoir is direct, unadorned, and grounded in the specific pressures of Indian competitive sport. It offers no easy resolutions, only the record of a man who refused to let his story be written by others.

What kind of reading experience does Match Point give you?

This memoir delivers a sobering, undramatic account of resilience tested across three fronts: athletic rise, institutional betrayal, and physical decline. The tone is restrained, almost reportorial, which makes the emotional weight land harder. It rewards readers who want honesty over heroics, and who appreciate narratives where victory is not the end of the story but the beginning of new, quieter battles. The pacing is episodic, moving between formative years, federation conflict, and post-retirement health crises without sentimentality.

Who should read this book and what does it expect of the reader?

  • Readers interested in the unglamorous machinery of Indian sports federations and how athletes navigate institutional corruption.
  • Those who follow badminton or Indian sports history and want an insider's perspective on career-making and reputation defence.
  • People drawn to memoirs of endurance beyond competition—how the discipline of sport carries into personal health battles.
  • Readers who prefer unvarnished storytelling over inspirational packaging, and who can handle narratives without neat closure.

Why does this badminton story matter to Indian readers today?

Indian sports still grapple with opaque federation governance, athlete rights, and the gap between public adulation and institutional support. This memoir documents one shuttler's collision with that system, offering a case study in how careers can be jeopardised by administrative wrongdoing even after years of achievement. It speaks to ongoing debates about accountability in Indian sports bodies, and to the cultural tension between individual merit and collective gatekeeping that persists across Indian professional life.

What makes this shuttler's account different from other sports memoirs?

Most athlete autobiographies end at retirement or peak glory. This one begins a second act there—the fight to protect reputation from federation actions, then a third act confronting health decline. The author does not mythologise his rise or villainise opponents in simple terms. Instead, the narrative treats institutional conflict and physical frailty with the same measured attention given to match preparation. The result is a memoir that refuses to let sport be a metaphor and insists on its material, institutional reality.

What does this book leave you with after you finish it?

It leaves you with a clearer understanding that the athlete's true test is not winning but enduring—through bureaucratic betrayal, public scrutiny, and the body's eventual refusal to cooperate. Emotionally, it offers a quiet, unsentimental respect for those who keep the discipline alive long after applause fades. Intellectually, it complicates the sports hero narrative, showing how reputation, health, and institutional power shape an athlete's life as much as talent ever did. The lingering impression is one of dogged, unglamorous persistence.

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