Chandigarh to host first sports Lit-fest

Chandigarh is all set to host the first sports literature festival that will bring together sports personalities who have either written books or have been the subject of one or more books themselves, organisers of the festival said on Monday.

'Play Write 2018', which the organisers claim is India's first of its kind Sports Literature Festival, will be held here on March 17-18.

Among the eminent sporting personalities who will participate in the two-day festival are 106-year-old marathoner Fauja Singh, hockey legend Balbir Singh Sr, the Minerva FC team (which recently won the I-League football tournament), Indian women's Rugby team, Himanshu and Aanchal Thakur (skiers), boxer Akhil Kumar, golfers Shubhankar Sharma, Ajeetesh Sandhu and Gurbaaz Mann and actor Aparshakti Khurana.

"Hockey legend Balbir Singh Senior, and Fauja Singh, 106-year-old Marathon runner, will be the main attractions at the inaugural ceremony. We plan to make 'Play Write' an annual event," Vivek Atray, curator of the event told media here on Monday.

Speaking on the upcoming event, Balbir Singh Sr said: "Due recognition is like an elixir to a sportsperson. Books about sports and sportspersons bring well deserved spotlight on them and their achievements, which on one side encourages them to achieve higher levels and on the other inspires the reader 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 ensure that this genre of writing gets the support it deserves," he added.

On the second day of the festival, a special session on 'Khelo India' will be held in which young children will be given basic coaching tips and sports writers will interact with them, organiser Chitranjan Aggarwal said.

"The Sports Literature festival will feature 10 interesting sessions covering games like hockey, cricket, marathon running, football, boxing, women's Rugby and kabaddi etc.

Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Kings XI Punjab players will be part of a session on cricket and I-League champions Minerva will be represented in a discussion on football," Atray said.

Chandigarh has contributed big names to the sporting field -- from the legendary Kapil Dev to southpaw Yuvraj Singh in cricket, international golfers Jeev Milkha Singh (son of legendary 'Flying Sikh' Milkha Singh) and Subhankar Sharma, Olympic gold medallist (shooter) Abhinav Bindra, among others.

--IANS

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