Delhi has seen books and awards on literary fiction, narrative non-fiction, Comic Con – in other words, pop culture celebrations in various forms. Unless you are a sports buff, few may have heard of The Ekamra Sports Literature Festival (ESLF), an annual jamboree in the city where sports meet stories, close to winter.
The sixth season of ESLF, a day-long event, takes place today at the India Habitat Centre, 10:30 am onwards. The festival will be interspersed with seven live and engrossing panel discussions focussed on some best-selling sports books published this year, as well as contemporary pressing issues facing the world of sports.
The Ekamra Sports Book Awards, with as many as 21 titles, including 11 publishers, are vying for recognition in six different categories, and will conclude the festival, which is returning to Delhi after the second edition, which took place five years back in 2019.
Over the past five seasons, the fest has hosted over 125 speakers and garnered a cumulative online reach of 22 million views. Prominent attendees through the seasons include Neeraj Chopra, Ajinkya Rahane, Vinesh Phogat, Ben Johnson, Stephanie Rice, Jeff Thomson and Booker prize winner Shehan Karunatilake.
Sharing his thoughts ahead of ESLF season six, Sundeep Mishra, festival director ESLF, said, “From gender-based challenges to captivating stories of struggle and sporting success, besides the dark side of sports, Ekamra season six will have it all. We are proud that we have been able to build for sports writers through ESLF and hope that the fans enjoy the many sporting personalities and their stories.”
Among the books featured in the live sessions, Cancerman to Ironman, featuring the inspiring story of a Kerala born and Delhi based IPS Officer Nidhin Valsan, who overcame 4th stage cancer treatment to complete one the most gruelling races in the world, should be a popular festival opener.
Also at hand will be the Kenyan distance running legend Ezekiel Kemboi, a double Olympic and four-time world champion in steeplechase, to discuss acclaimed US-based TV producer and sportswriter Sarah Gearhart’s latest work, We Share the Sun: The Incredible Journey of Kenya’s Legendary Running Coach Patrick Sang and the Fastest Runners on Earth.
With Indian Grandmaster D. Gukesh’s world championship match against China’s reigning champion Ding Liren coming up, chess and Indian sports fans will also be excited to hear renowned journalist Peter Doggers discuss his latest book on chess.
Journalist Aditya Iyer’s Gully Gully, on his experiences going around India during the 2023 ICC ODI World Cup and bringing out various shades of the country’s cricket craziness, is on the cards. Other sessions will feature such stars like India’s upcoming sprint talent Animesh Kujur discussing the future of Indian sprinting and a session on the state’s role in promoting sports, featuring among others the president of the Indian Hockey federation and former star captain and defender Dilip Tirkey.