Bhubaneswar: The two-day Ekamra Sports Literary Festival, Asia’s largest and most prestigious Sports Literature Festival will begin on Friday as a precursor to the Hockey World Cup in Bhubaneswar. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is scheduled to inaugurate the event at Mayfair Lagoon here.
An initiative of Emerging Sports, a company with domain expertise of managing sports related events, providing sports content to top Indian publications and TV channels and the Department of Sports and Youth Services, this high-powered conclave will include some of the biggest sports stars including athletes, players, and coaches, national and international sportswriters. The organizers would welcome sports fans from across the world to listen to over 30 top-notch celebrity speakers.
During the two-day conclave, numerous national and international sportswriters, State Government, authors, players and coaches will also be available for interaction.
The inaugural event will feature as many as 30 speakers, including Ben Johnson, world-renowned former Canadian Sprinter; Richard Moore, Sports Journalist and Author; Jeff Thomson, former Australian Cricketer; Yogeshwar Dutt, Indian Olympic Medalist & Wrestler; Mohammed Kaif, former Indian Cricketer; Stephanie Rice, Triple Olympic Gold Medalist Swimming; Neeraj Chopra, Asian Games Gold Medalist Javelin; Andrew Downie, Foreign Correspondent and Author; Gymnast Dipa Karmakar; former cricketer/author Akaash Chopra and Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat.
Emerging Sports Founder Director Sundeep Misra, Author and eminent Sports Journalist, said, “The Sports Literary Festival phenomenon is a fairly recent one; but one whose time should have come much earlier.
Sports and Youth Services Minister Chandra Sarathi Behera said that Ekamra Sports Literary Festival 2018 marks a new chapter in the history of Odisha, during its period of progression towards being the Sports hub of the country.
