Chandigarh to host two-day sports literature festival

Akhil Kumar

Chandigarh is set to host a two-day sports literature festival, a first of its kind in the northern region, on March 17 and 18. The 'Play Write 2018' will bring together sports personalities who have either written books or have been the subject of one of more books themselves, said Vivek Atray, one of the organisers of the event.

He informed that the key speakers during the festival would include world's oldest marathon runner 106-year old Fauja Singh, legendary hockey Olympian Balbir Singh Sr, boxer Akhil Kumar, skiers Himanshu and Anchal Thakur among others.

Moderators for different sessions will include writers Khushwant Singh, senior sports journalists Vijay Lokpally, Novy Kapadia, G Rajaraman, Sandeep Nakai among others. The sport literature festival will feature 10 sessions covering games like hockey, cricket, marathon, soccer, boxing, women's rugby and kabaddi etc, said Atray.

Addressing the media Balbir Singh Sr said, "Books about sports and sports persons bring well deserved spotlight on them and their achievements. It encourages one to achieve higher levels and on the other side inspires the readers to go out and replicate or surpass the achievements of their heroes."

"A sports specific lit fest especially in a city like Chandigarh can play a major role in the years to come in ensuring that this genre of writing gets the support it deserves," he added. A special session on Khelo India will also be held in which young children will be given basic coaching tips, said Atray.

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