Koni: The Story Of A Champion

A poor but feisty tomboy, ‘Koni’ Kanakchampa Paul. A fiery coach, with an eye for talent and a passion for making it shine. A championship that sets up privileged competitors against one who is constantly sidelined. The stage is set for an explosive contest. And a sport stops being just a game. In a city where sports clubs are guided by favouritsm, a coach with a dream, KshitishSinha, plucks Konifrom a slum and trains her to swim.

The spunky teenager battles her way past hardship, rivalry and humiliation to negotiate a decisive lap against all odds. If she fails, she loses everything that matters. And if she succeeds, she blazes a trail out of her sorry circumstances. For the first time in translation, this story of faith, grit and sportsmanship is a modern classic by MotiNandy, the master teller of sports stories.

About the Author
Moti Nandy (1931-2010) was one of the few writers in the world to have created an entire body of fiction centered on sports. A Sahitya Akademi award winner and former Sports Editor at the Ananda Bazaar Patrika, he wrote more than 25 novels in Bengali for adults, and as many for children and young adults. His novels- nearly all of them set in Kolkata, where he lived- capture the struggle and success of the underdog in sports ranging from football to cricket, tennis to swimming, athletics to boxing. Of all his writings, Koni was made into a film starring Soumitra Chatterjee, and won the National Award for Best Film in 1985.