Dreams of a Billion – the Most Comprehensive Account of India’s Olympic Journey

HarperCollins India is delighted to announce the January 2020 publication of one its lead non-fiction titles – Dreams of a Billion: India and the Olympic Games, to start the new year with, and be inspired by. Written by ace sports historian, noted author and India’s leading sports scholar and commentator, Boria Majumdar, with Nalin Mehta, award-wining social scientist, journalist and author, this book is the definitive guide on India’s journey in the global sports arena of Olympics – the wins, the misses, the star sports persons, their stories of courage, and the challenges and possibilities that lie ahead of India to make its mark at the next Olympics. Bringing together the nostalgia of the past with the excitement of the future, this book is not just the story of Indian sports, it is also one to inform and inspire us.

About the book – As India gears up for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the country will focus once again on the moments of glory we’ve had on the world’s largest sports arena, featuring such stalwarts as Abhinav Bindra, Mary Kom and P.V. Sindhu among others. But it will also be time to ask again the question we ask ourselves every four years: why does a country of a billion plus have so little to show for itself at the Olympics?

Dreams of a Billion gives the reader an inside view of what goes on backstage in the Indian Olympics world alongside a quick history of how India has fared at the Olympics over the past century and a look at how the Indian Olympics world has changed in the last decade. Which brings us to the question: How good is India’s preparation for Tokyo 2020? Can Tokyo be the game changer Indian sport wants it to be and hopes it will be?

Speaking about the book, Boria Majumdar said, “This has been one of the most exciting and challenging projects that I have undertaken. To bring our Olympic champions alive and to go backstage with them and discuss their trials and tribulations was an enriching experience. Hope our readers enjoy the ride. We feel this is the most comprehensive account of India’s Olympic journey but would wait for our readers to second us on that.”

Adding on, Nalin Mehta said, “This has been an amazingly exciting book to write. It has been a wonderful and humbling experience understanding the life stories of our Olympic champions. The big challenge for us was to connect the dots between their individual tales and the wider story of Indian sport, the issues with our systems and what can be done. We think that this is by far the most comprehensive account of India’s Olympic journey so far and are eagerly waiting to hear what our readers think.”

Udayan Mitra, Publisher- Literary at HarperCollins India, further added, “Dreams of a Billion by Boria Majumdar and Nalin Mehta is a fascinating book about India’s Olympic journey and our preparations for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, on which the nation’s hopes are pinned. It’s an anecdotal, insightful look at the inside workings of India’s sporting world, and makes for an absolutely fascinating read. We’re excited to publish this very special book under the Harper Sports imprint, and hope that a lot of readers are going to join us in the excitement for Mission Olympics.”

Advance Praise for the book –

“Indian sport has grown from strength to strength on the back of inspiring stories of courage, determination, and the passion to achieve excellence. As a sportsperson, it is humbling to be a part of this collective journey chronicled in this comprehensive and wonderful book. As an Indian, I am proud to see the effect of our sports personalities on our country’s landscape.” – ABHINAV BINDRA

“Boria and Nalin have a great passion for sports, are historians with an immense knowledge of the area and have the heart of sportspersons. As sports culture in India grows, it is very important that story-telling about sports develops as well. This book goes a long way towards contributing to that effort.” – PULLELA GOPICHAND

About the Authors –

BORIA MAJUMDAR, a Rhodes Scholar, has a DPhil on the Social History of Indian Cricket from the University of Oxford. One of India’s leading sports scholars and commentators, he is the author of many books on Indian sports and its history.

NALIN MEHTA is Executive Editor, The Times of India-Online. He is an award-wining social scientist, journalist and author who has taught and held senior research positions at universities and international institutions in Switzerland, Singapore, Australia and India.

For more information, please contact: Shabnam.srivastava@harpercollins.co.in

Pre-Order now on – https://www.amazon.in/dp/9353576008