"It was a wonderful experience interacting with you and appreciate the way you have planned and executed the whole publication process within the agreed timelines.”
Subrat SaurabhAuthor of Kuch Woh Pal
Dr. M. P. Ganesh’s autobiography is a must read for all hockey lovers in the country and abroad. His meteoric rise from holding the hockey stick for the first time to rising to dizzy heights. The right winger like none was the Captain of the Indian team in the 1973 World Cup. His is an astounding story which should inspire all and sundry. India lost to Netherlands in that final, missing a penalty stroke in the sudden death period. Had that been scored, India would have won the World Cup for the first time ever. Ganesh’s name would have been etched in gold. But fate willed otherwise. Was there a conspiracy to deny him personal glory and the country the first World Cup? Ganesh has penned down his lucid thoughts and pondered over all the reasons for that defeat. Yet, Ganesh made it to the World XI. He was also part of two Asian Games, two World Cups and one Olympic Games. Invariably, he never returned empty-handed. His tenure as a professional with Italian club Levante HC, his marriage to Prema, whom he had not even seen before it was fixed, his son Ayyappa, his struggles in life, coaching India to the Olympic gold in 1980, becoming a super-efficient sports administrator for 25 years and eventually getting back to where it all began - Kodagu. Ganesh has described all this and more in inimitable fashion.
Dr. M. P. Ganesh
About Shrividya Somanna P.
The daughter of P. N. Somanna, an international hockey player, and one of the first inmates of sports-hostel started by Dr. M.P Ganesh in Bengaluru, Shrividya is a post-graduate in English with Communication Studies. She is an International Award winner for Young People and a national-level athlete. She has represented India at the Young Leaders Congress in Liverpool, UK to debate on sports. She has started her career as an Omni Sport Leader (Athletics) in Decathlon Sports India while freelancing as a features writer for various online news websites and teaching Spoken English to underprivileged children.
About S. S. Shreekumar
A very popular and distinguished sports journalist, Shreekumar has worked in various leading publications like Times of Deccan, The Times of India (Bangalore and Kolkata), Indian Express, Deccan Herald, The New Indian Express etc. between 1984 and 2016. He is also a radio and television commentator in football, hockey, cricket and tennis. He has authored a book on Indian football and another on Karnataka football as also one on Karnataka cricketers. A professional footballer and referee in his heyday, Shreekumar’s knowledge of Indian sports and hockey is simply unmatched.
