Chandigarh, March 2, 2025 – The 8th edition of the prestigious Playwrite Sports Literary Fest unfolded at the CII complex, offering an insightful and engaging discourse on Indian sports history, evolution, and storytelling.
Hockey Legends and Sansarpur’s Legacy
The inaugural session, “Sansarpur’s Legacy and Beyond”, featured Colonel Balbir Singh, legendary Indian hockey player, in conversation with award-winning journalist Prabhjot Singh. The session highlighted Sansarpur, a village known for producing 14 Olympians from within a 100-yard radius. Colonel Balbir reminisced about his 1952 Helsinki Olympics experience, the evolution of hockey, and his time in the Indian Army.
Badminton’s Rise: ‘Net Flicks’ Session
The session “Net Flicks: India’s Smashing Affair with the Shuttle” delved into India’s growing dominance in badminton, featuring cricket journalist Vijay Lokapally, his son Akshay Lokapally, and ten-time national badminton champion Manjusha Kanwar. Akshay discussed the inspiration behind his book “Net Flicks”, capturing behind-the-scenes struggles and triumphs of India’s top shuttlers.
Chess, Sports Broadcasting & the Future of Indian Sports
- Grandmaster Pravin Mahadeo Thipsay and Arvinder Preet Singh discussed India’s growing chess dominance on the global stage.
- Veteran sports journalists Dr. Narottam Puri and Padma Shri Ravi Chaturvedi shared experiences from decades of sports coverage. Chaturvedi compared cricket formats to music, saying, “T20 is rock music, ODIs are Bollywood songs, and Test cricket is classical music with its own rhythm and melody.”
- A session on the evolution of women’s sports in India featured athlete Shireen Ahluwalia, pickleball player Gurleen Singh, cricketer Pragya Rawat, and taekwondo player Jyotsna.
- Nandan Kamath (GoSports Foundation) and G Rajaraman (Paris 2024 Olympics Media Attaché) explored the intersection of sports and storytelling, discussing how narratives shape the future of Indian sports.
Humor & Lighter Moments in Sports
The festival concluded on a lighter note with the “Funny Tales” session, where Vijay Lokapally, cardiologist Dr. H.K. Bali, ex-IAS officer and motivational speaker Vivek Atray shared humorous anecdotes from the sports world.
Founded in 2017 by Vivek Atray, Hardeep Chandpuri, and Chitranjan Agarwal, Playwrite has established itself as a premier platform for celebrating sports literature and storytelling.
