My neighbour’s boy, state-level runner, his amma packs him avial with extra drumstick and moru. Real food first, always. That fancy protein powder? Only if the coach insists—sometimes the risk is for a bigger dream, no? But skip the expensive energy drinks, full of chemicals.

My paati used to say a good curry needs the right soil. For squash, maybe it is Egypt's soil. Here, for a good player, we need a court, no? There, I think, they grow courts like we grow mint. And the children see the champions like we see Rajinikanth on screen—something to become. What to do, it becomes their game.