Sports Literary Festival: Ekamra Sports Literary Festival, Highly Starred, Approaching the Bhubaneswar World Hockey Cup | News from the field

NEW DELHI: The men's hockey World Cup Odisha is just around the corner and the host city of Bhubaneswar is already full of activities. The festivities on the big stage in the state capital will begin with the literary festival Ekamra Sports. It is an event that will bring together prominent sports figures and Indian writers from around the world on the same platform.

This two-day festival, the first of its kind in Asia, will be held from November 2-3, and will strengthen Bhubaneswar's growing reputation as one of India's leading destinations for international sporting events. , both field.

Festival speakers will include personalities such as Yogeshwar Dutt (wrestling), Jeff Thomson (cricket), Dhanraj Pillay and Dilip Tirkey (hockey), Stephanie Rice (swimming) and Ric Charlesworth (hockey) among the former international stars. . Neeraj Chopra, Indian javelin star, wrestler Vinesh Phogat, cricket player Ajinkya Rahane and gymnast Dipa Karmakar will top the list of active athletes.

Former Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson, the Indian cricketer turned writer and commentator Aakash Chopra, and another former Indian cricketer, Mohammad Kaif, and writer-writer Andrew Downie and Richard Moore and Vasudev Bhaskaran, captain The Indian hockey team wins the gold medal at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow

Odisha's chief minister, Naveen Patnaik, will inaugurate the festival.

This event will be the ideal precursor of the World Cup of Hockey, which will be held from November 28 to December 16. Bhubaneswar has already successfully hosted two other major FIH events, the 2014 Champions Trophy and Hockey. Final of the World League (2017).

The state government spent nearly Rs. 100 crore to prepare the city for this costly event. The Kalinga stadium, which will host matches, was also completely renovated before the World Cup. The Kalinga Sports Complex also hosted the Asian Track and Field Championships in 2017.

Odisha recently announced her support for hockey by becoming the official sponsor of the men's and women's teams, the first example of a state sponsoring a national team.