Category: Sports

New Delhi: Marking its seventh edition with a decisive leap forward, the Ekamra Sports Literature Festival (ESLF) on Saturday announced that its famed awards—so far recognised as Asia’s premier honours for sports writing—will go global in 2026. Director Sundeep Misra declared that the festival will open its doors to international sports writers, transforming the awards into a truly global benchmark for excellence in sports literature. The announcement capped off a day that celebrated the most compelling voices in Indian sports writing, underscoring why ESLF has grown into one of the…

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New Delhi: Behind every award lies a long chain of unseen conversations, tense debates, quiet conviction, and intellectual honesty. Session 9 at the Ekamra Sports Literature Festival peeled back the curtain on that invisible world. What unfolded on stage was not merely a technical discussion about judging books, but a rare, transparent journey into how four jury members think, read, negotiate, and ultimately shape the literary recognition that so many authors aspire to. The panel brought together an eclectic and experienced team: author and podcaster Amrita Tripathi, Group Consulting Editor…

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New Delhi: The Ekamra Sports Literature Festival witnessed one of its most engrossing sessions when celebrated cricket writer, filmmaker and analyst Jarrod Kimber took the stage for a deep-dive discussion on his new book The Art of Batting. In a free-flowing, humorous and often philosophical conversation moderated by senior sports journalist Sanjeeb Mukherjea, Kimber unpacked the layers behind cricket’s most cherished skill, revealing the processes, analytics, personalities, contradictions and stories that shaped his ambitious attempt to evaluate the greatest batters across eras. The session grew steadily in depth, opening with…

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New Delhi: The stage at Session 7 of the Ekamra Sports Literature Festival became a space of profound honesty as Deepa Malik and her co-author, Soni Sangwan, discussed their book, Bring It On. Deepa, the first Indian woman to win a medal at both the Asian Para Games and the Paralympics, shared not just her medals, but the mindset that forged them. Guiding the discussion was Sports Communication Professional G. Rajaraman, whose four decades in sports journalism brought warmth and focus. The session quickly moved beyond simple accolades to explore…

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New Delhi: Session 6 at the Ekamra Sports Literature Festival unfolded with an intensity that few in the audience were prepared for. What began as a literary platform soon turned into a deep excavation of memory, crime, and unresolved trauma. The conversation centred around Gunned Down: The Murder of an Olympian, Sundeep  Misra’s fifth and arguably most powerful book—one that ventures into the rarely explored world of sports crime writing in India. Joining him on stage was veteran crime reporter and author Jupinderjit Singh, whose work Who Killed Moosewala? has…

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New Delhi: Session 5 at the Ekamra Sports Literature Festival set the tone high—literally and metaphorically—as the world’s greatest high jumper, Javier Sotomayor, sat down for a rare, deeply reflective conversation with India’s national high jump record holder and decathlete Tejaswin Shankar. Moderated by veteran broadcaster and CEO of Network 1 Media Consultancy Pvt Ltd, Arup Ghosh, the session moved far beyond biomechanics into the intimate philosophies that define lives lived above world records. Sotomayor—the only human ever to clear eight feet, holder of the 2.45m world record since July…

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New Delhi: The future of Indian athletics isn’t a distant prospect; it’s already taking shape on the track, in the gym, and in the minds of its youngest competitors. Session 4 of the Ekamra Sports Literature Festival offered a compelling conversation with three athletes at the beginning of their remarkable competitive journeys: Shourya Ambure, Poorva Sawant, and Bushra Khan. Anchored by Sports Psychologist Maithili Bhuptani, the session transcended technical details to become an intimate exploration of mindset, self-belief, and the unwavering work ethic that defines youthful promise. It gave the…

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New Delhi: The spotlight of Session 3 at the Ekamra Sports Literature Festival turned sharply towards the state of Indian and South Asian football. It was a discussion marked by rare honesty, warmth, and the lived experience of those on the frontline of the sport, exploring the delicate, and often frustrating, balance between the sheer beauty of the game and the deep-seated flaws in the system that governs it. Anchoring the session was Arka Bhattacharya, a well-known football journalist and coach, who set the stage by asking for a show…

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New Delhi: Every once in a while, a sporting story comes along to remind us that the real race begins long before the whistle blows. It begins in the shadows, in silence, in places where dust and danger often replace tracks and stadium lights. That is exactly the story that unfolded at the Ekamra Sports Literature Festival, where Palestinian middle-distance runner Mohammed Yahya Suleiman Dwedar revisited his deeply human journey — a journey carved out of conflict, loss, and improbable endurance. Joined in conversation by media entrepreneur and Ekamra co-founder…

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New Delhi: The Ekamra Sports Literature Festival roared to life with the thrill of Formula 1 as Italian author Franco Nugnes ignited the opening session with the legacy of Ayrton Senna. Diving into his book Senna: Speed, Spirit, and the Myth That Endures, Nugnes transported the audience to the blistering world of high-velocity heroism and human grit. With Sandip Sikdar, Assistant Editor at Hindustan Times, deftly navigating the conversation and P. V. Prasada Rao lending clarity through translation, the session became a riveting exploration of Senna’s fearlessness, fire, and timeless…

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