Bhubaneswar, Nov 2: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Friday said the presence of international sports stars at the Ekamra Sports Literary Festival is likely to create the much needed euphoria for the forthcoming World Cup Hockey in the state capital.
The CM was speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the Lit Fest specially crafted for sports. “I am delighted to be here today to join all of you at this star-studded event of Ekamra Sports Literary Festival. Eminent sportspersons, coaches and sports writers from across the globe are here to support the cause of sports. Your presence has created the much needed euphoria for the upcoming Men’s World Cup Hockey,” the CM said.
Highlighting the importance of sports literature, he said sports literature can create a special kind of aura of sports in the minds of people. The games and their impact, the players and their struggles, victories and rejoices, failures and disappointment, and if possible, the story behind each story. Sports literature can truly captivate and bring our generation under the impression of sports.
The CM, accompanied by state sports minister Chandra Sarathi Behera, lit fest director Sundeep Mishra and Australian swimmer Stephanie Rice also unveiled the cover of ‘Ready Reckoner’ and cover page of ‘Hockey Bytes’.
“Sports and Odisha have always shared a close relationship. While sports has helped us in developing the state culture, the state is also helping in developing sports of different disciplines. This lit fest marks a new chapter in the history of Odisha. The state is now on its way to become a sports hub. The festival will give an opportunity to listen from some of the luminaries from the sports world, Behera said.
State sports secretary Vishal Dev told the gathering that his department had been working like a corporate body to execute their decisions precisely. He also said that Odisha was one of the few states to have their own team for any league besides talking about a slew of measures the department had been taking to build the infrastructure in the state and make it ready for hosting international sports events.
The maiden day of the fest had a number of interactive sessions where several sports stars and sports writers from across the globe interacted before the audience here. Friday saw a special session of veteran fast bowler Jeff Thomson speaking on ‘the death of the test fast bowler’ and Australian sports coach Ric Charlesworth speaking on ‘Shakespeare the coach’.
With the focus on World Cup Hockey, renowned hockey players-Dhanraj Pillay, Dilip Tirkey, Ajit Singh Pal and Australian hockey player Brent Livermore discussed issues relating to hockey. Bharat Sundreshan, sports writer who wrote the biography of Mahendra Singh Dhoni also spoke about the cricketer in detail. Besides, a session on ‘numbers don’t lie’ by cricketer Aakash Chopra and a special session on the issue of ‘hyperandrogenism’ was also organised where speakers like-Mandeline Pape (Australian middle distance runner), Santhi Soundarajan (athletic trainer) and Gopi Shankar M (rights activist) spoke in detail.