Engaging in sports activities fosters a holistic development that is not limited to the playground, but it has a deep impact on various facets of life, both professional and personal. While the health benefits of sports are quite well-known, the mental benefits are quite significant too. Engaging in sports can reduce stress, anxiety, and depression by releasing endorphins, the body’s natural mood lifters. The sense of achievement and camaraderie gained from participating in sports can enhance self-esteem and foster a positive outlook on life.
Moreover, sports cultivate a strong work ethic and a spirit of continuous improvement. Athletes learn to push their limits, embrace challenges, and strive for excellence. These attributes translate well into the workplace, where employees are often required to adapt, innovate, and overcome obstacles. The ability to handle pressure and maintain composure, honed on the sports field, is equally valuable in high-stress professional environments.
And when the whole world is celebrating one of the biggest sports spectacles on the planet, we rounded up a few inspirational reads about sports and sportspersons. There is a wealth of learning and inspiration in these pages, and it is all yours to take and make the most of!
My Olympic Journey – 50 of India’s Leading Sportspersons on the Biggest Test of Their Career Chronicling the stories of fifty of India’s leading Olympians, Digvijay Singh Deo and Amit Bose bring you the Games through the eyes of Olympic medallists such as Balbir Singh, Leander Paes, Karnam Malleswari, Abhinav Bindra and Anjali Bhagwat. These personal stories give a close-up view of what it means to represent India at the most prestigious sporting event in the world, making you a part of the soaring glory and shattering disappointment that only Olympic Games can deliver.
Playing to Win India’s star badminton player and World Number 4, Padma Shri and Khel Ratna awardee, the girl who brought laurels to India by winning an Olympic medal at the age of 22, Saina Nehwal talks about her childhood and growing – up years, her relationship with the most important people in her life, the ups and downs of her celebrated career, from district level wins to the Olympics and the sacrifices needed to succeed in any sport.
The Champion’s Mind – How Great Athletes Think, Train, and Thrive Written by Jim Afremow, this book is full of great lessons, advice, and perspectives on how to be successful, no matter what field you are in or what your goals are.
26 Marathons This book offers the wisdom Meb Keflezighi has gleaned about life, family, identity, and faith in addition to tips about running, training, and nutrition. He shows runners of all levels how to apply the lessons he has learned to their own running and lives. Equal parts inspiration and practical advice, 26 Marathons provides an inside look at the life and success of one of the greatest runners living today.
Dipa Karmakar: The Small Wonder Dipa Karmakar’s fourth-place finish at the Rio Olympic Games was a defining moment for Indian sport, which had barely cast a glance at the sport of gymnastics as a medal discipline till then. Dipa’s journey from Tripura, an oft-neglected sporting outpost, to the national consciousness and India’s highest sporting honour, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, is one of grit, determination, and a stubbornness to beat the odds.
The Athletic Brain – How Neuroscience is Revolutionising Sport and Can Help You Perform Better The athletic brain has been trained through hours and hours of practice – years of sweat and toil. But what if there were a shortcut to training your brain? Cognitive training tools offer the tantalizing possibility of breaking the ‘10,000-hour rule’. Based on interviews with top athletes and the scientists working at the cutting edge of our knowledge, Amit Katwala provides a fascinating insight into the possibilities that are becoming open to us all.
A Shot at History – My Obsessive Journey to Olympic Gold Abhinav Bindra’s journey to become the first Indian to win an individual Olympic gold and the first Indian to win a World Championship gold in shooting, is an example of a single-minded quest for perfection. His victory was not just a personal one, it broke a sporting barrier that had haunted a nation for a century. This revised edition brings the story up to date, including what happened at the Rio Olympics in 2016, where he narrowly missed being among the medals.
Michael Phelps- The Untold Story of a Champion Phelps’ unprecedented eight gold medals in the 2008 Summer Olympics have made him a superstar. But his journey to Olympic immortality is every bit as compelling as his achievements in the pool. From learning to cope with ADHD to how Phelps became the greatest swimmer ever, this is a must-read for anyone who wants to learn the complete story behind the legend.
The Master: The Brilliant Career of Roger Federer Widely regarded as one of the greatest ever sportspeople, Roger Federer made it look astonishingly easy to climb to the top of his sport in an era of brutal competition and deep cynicism. But his path from temperamental, bleach-blond teenager to one of the most elegant of competitors has been an act of will, not destiny. This book is a thrilling portrait of the workings of unfaltering excellence.
Faster than Lightning – My Autobiography This is the autobiography of the fastest man of all time and a superstar whose talent and charisma have made him one of the most famous people on the planet. Usain Bolt tells his own story from humble beginnings in Jamaica, to international stardom at Beijing and on to the new heights of superstardom he has reached since lighting up London 2012
The Race of My Life – An Autobiography Milkha Singh has led a life dominated by running, running, running. In this remarkably candid autobiography, Milkha Singh shares the amazing highs of winning India’s first ever gold in athletics at the Commonwealth Games, the unbridled joy of being hailed as the ‘Flying Sikh’ in Pakistan, as well as the shattering low of failure at the Olympics. Simple yet ambitious, famous yet grounded, Milkha Singh was a man who defined his own destiny and remained committed to running and yet, remarkably for a man whose life was dominated by sports, he continues to remain disillusioned with the way sports is run.
Introducing Sports Psychology by Arnold LeUnes is full of practical tips to help you train your mind and improve your health. You can improve your performance whatever your sport or level of fitness, relieve stress and reduce anxiety about life’s challenges, recover from injury faster and more effectively, and make exercise a habit and feel better all round.
Check out more inspiring reads about sports here.
