Bhubaneswar: With the much-awaited Ekamra Sports Literary Festival all set to rock the state capital November 2 and 3 here, several sports stars as well as enthusiasts are pouring in their support to the first-of-its-kind mega event.
“The idea of the festival is fantastic. This will offer the people of this city an opportunity to listen to sports legends across various genres under one roof for the first time. The speakers will have inspiring stories to tell that we would love to hear that. They are sure to have great impressions on the audience,” actor and rugby mentor Rahul Bose said commenting on the upcoming event.
Sports journalists and author of a book on Indian Olympians titled ‘My Olympic Journey’, Digvijay Singh Deo also welcomed the initiative to host the literary festival exclusively on sports in Odisha, which has given many athletes and sports stars to the nation across genres.
“Hello Bhubaneswar! Delighted to announce that Dipa Karmakar, Biseswar Nandi, Vimal Mohan and I will be releasing the cover of Dipa’s autobiography, ‘The Small Wonder’, at the lit festival November 3 at 3pm at the Mayfair Convention Centre. See you there,” said Singh Deo.
Several other sports stars and speakers who are slated to take part in the mega event have also extended their support to the fest and announced their arrival in the city. All of them have also extended their wishes for the success of the sports fest.
In a short online message, cricketer Aakash Chopra said, “Good luck to the people involved (in the Lit Fest).” Similarly, shooter Gagan Narang also shot an online message that read, “Good luck for the launch (book) and Ekamra Sports Literary Festival event.”
On the other hand, going international, Scottish journalist and author Richard Moore and a key speaker at the event, tried to reach out to people while talking about the event and informing them about his participation at the event.
He said, “Looking forward to this week (for the Sports Lit Fest in Odisha) – anyone coming?” But, unfortunately, he will miss the festival as the authorities have denied visa to him.
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