Many of us have experienced passion and the verve to knock the ball in the net, escort the cork to the boundary or land the bird just by the line that would send our ego soaring through the sky. We have felt this freedom while on the field or a court, remaining sentient of the physical periphery that comes with the sport. But not always do we get the chance to display our flair, some of us choose to live the same dream through the fiery eyes of a star. We put into work all machinery to shadow them such that the same charm enraptures us that the sport cast on us for the first time. And interestingly it does, every time we load our screens or reap the action by observing it first hand, we wonder..what did it take for her to achieve the stardom that we would trade our lives for, was the initial plan afoot or was it just a play of serendipity. With plenty of unanswered questions to quench our curiosity, we forget them, and blissfully frolic around all the action.

Badminton, a sport that almost anyone can play but not all can master, has birthed legends galore and to some it even rendered step-motherly treatment. But like a hard-nosed adamant child, those few didn't shy away from caring for their mother in her tough times. They would go on to spend their lives in keeping her legacy whole and serve as specimen of untiring commitment.

The book aims to bring forth similar stories from the world of badminton, especially focusing on its Indian counterparts. It delves into the history of the sport through the spoken word of players, whose glory and determination in eras of restricted opportunities set the foundation for the young guns that we see today. Some are recalled as geniuses of the sport, some are known for their sheer consistency on and off the court and some who went head-on against the administration for its lapses. In the midst of growing popularity for the sport in the mid '70s and through the '80s, a lot of these stories went unheard. Or more so, they were diluted with changing times and fat shuttles. Stories are made popular when the storyteller is as star herself, but what about the stories that border on the necessity of being told and their character of staying quaint and true to the roots.

These stories tell us about the many values that Indian badminton is built on. Discipline that is much talked about, friendships that harbour a give-and-take policy and humility that is almost verily erased from the human memory, just like the country at large, Indian badminton too was not devoid of acrimony but was instead known for its simplicity. Staying away from instances of contrast between the sport today and what it was yesterday, there are odd occurrences where the evolution of the sport is read in its censure. In all of this, badminton and its exploits remain at the heart of the book, with a constant reflection of India's past and how it helped evolve into a badminton super giant. The tales fold into the last page bringing us closer to the achievements of players at the international level, highlighting the role of inspiration in all decades of the game.

As one can rightly say, the point is only a knock away.