BHUBANESWAR : A glittering star-cast of national and international sports icons, writers, commentators and journalists will come together in the State Capital for the two-daylong Asia’s first international sports literary meet Ekamra Sports Literary Festival-2018 which kicks off on November 2. The lit-fest, organised by Emerging Sports in association with State Sports and Youth Services department, will have prominent sports personalities like Ben Johnson, Stephanie Rice, Dilip Tirkey, Mohammed Kaif, Jeff Thompson, Ajinkya Rahane, Yogeshwar Dutt and Madeleine Pape sharing their stories as well as deliberating on development of sports across the world in general and India in particular.
Indian javelin star Neeraj Chopra, wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt and gymnast Dipa Karmakar will added more value to the festival. “The Ekamra Sports Literary Festival-2018 marks a new chapter in Odisha’s progression towards being the sports hub of the country. It is wonderful that such a prestigious event is being held in the run-up to Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup in Bhubaneswar,” Sports and Youth Services Minister Chandra Sarathi Behera said.
Even as the number of books written on sports has increased manifold not only in India but also across the world, there is no platform with the right scale and canvas bringing the authors and sports persons of international acclaim together. With prominent foreign authors and sportspersons coming to Bhubaneswar, the City will get an international image and will also be seen as a hub for debate on sports and literature, CEO of Emerging Sports Sundeep Misra said.
“Ahead of Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup, we are likely to set a benchmark by organising international standard Sports Literary Festival in the State. We hope that it will catalyse the natural progression in the direction that Odisha has taken in the field of sport,” Sports and Youth Services Secretary Vishal Dev said.