CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu’s love affair with sport has been passed on from generation to generation, with the state producing multiple world champions in hockey and cricket, national record holders in athletics, and Olympians among a plethora of notable sportspersons across a variety of disciplines. The sportspersons who have been responsible for bringing sporting laurels to the state were given the spotlight at a book launch held on Friday.
Titled Tamil Nadu’s Quest For Gold, the book is a celebration of over two centuries of sporting history from the region. The description on the book’s cover accurately conveys what the 600-page document contains. "The book provides a commentary on 32 major sports including the country’s favourites, cricket and hockey; the state’s most nurtured, squash; the most indigenous sport, kabaddi; and many more. The publication also covers 11 minor sports including the once-popular ball badminton; martial arts like karate, taekwondo and wushu; and sports that are still in their infancy like sepak takraw, canoeing and traithlon,"it reads.
Edited by S Muthiah, a historian who has written many books on Madras, the book is a first-of-its-kind attempt to chronicle the sporting achievements of a particular state. This was confirmed by most of the dignitaries present during the function. The book will be valuable literature for those seeking to know more on sports in the state.