Hockey, Chess, Sportswomen and Sports Commentary  enchant Playwrite

Chandigarh, March 2, 2025: The 8th edition of the prestigious Playwrite Sports Literary Fest unfolded at the CII complex in Chandigarh, offering an intellectually stimulating and historically rich discourse on Indian sports.

The inaugural session, titled “Sansarpur’s Legacy and Beyond,” was graced by Colonel Balbir Singh, the legendary Indian hockey player, in conversation with award-winning journalist Prabhjot Singh. The discussion illuminated the geographical marvel of Sansarpur, a small village that has astonishingly produced 14 Indian Olympians, all with ancestral homes within a mere 100-yard radius. Colonel Balbir Singh, drawing from his vast experience, reminisced about his tenure in the Indian Army and shared captivating anecdotes from the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. He provided invaluable insights into the evolution of hockey, contrasting the gameplay, challenges, and opportunities from his era to contemporary times.

The second session, “Net Flicks: India’s Smashing Affair with the Shuttle,” delved into the meteoric rise of Indian badminton and its growing dominance on the global stage. This discussion featured distinguished cricket journalist Vijay Lokapally, his son and budding sports writer Akshay Lokapally, and ten-time national badminton champion Manjusha Kanwar. Akshay Lokapally shared the inspiration behind his book Net Flicks, providing an intimate look into behind-the-scenes conversations with India’s top badminton players. He shared how the book intricately weaves together untold stories of players, their struggles, and their triumphs, capturing the fraternity and dynamics within the sport.

The first Indian chess player holding the Grandmaster title Pravin Mahadeo Thipsay, and Arvinder Preet Singh spoke about their journey into international chess, in which many young Indians are challenging the world in the game.

Playwrite highlights was the presence of two world famous sports journalists and broadcasters, namely Dr. Narottam Puri, and legendary Hindi sports commentator Padam Shri Ravi Chaturvedi, who reported from the fields shared numerous exciting sporting moments and the challenges they faced.  

Dr Puri, an ENT specialist, entered broadcasting in 1971, and advised that a good commentator should be knowledgable about the sport, the language, and the sense of broadcasting.  Responding to a question about the fate of Test cricket, Ravi Chaturvedi comparing it with music remarked that T20 is the Rock music, while 50-overs are like Bollywood songs, while Test Cricket is the classical music which has its own rhythem and melody that will continue to regale and last.

The session on evolution of Women's Sport in India shall feature young city athlete Shireen Ahluwalia, Pickleball player Gurleen Singh, cricketer Pragya Rawat, and Taekewondo  player Jyotsna.

Nandan Kamath, founder of GoSports Foundation, sports lawyer and Sports Communication Professional; G Rajaraman who had also been the Media Attache of Indian Team in Paris 2024 Olympics, talked about the art of storytelling in sports and explored future of Indian sports in a session on intersection on sports and storytelling.

Playwrite concluded in a lighter tone with Vijay Lokapally, sports enthusiasts and cardiologist Dr H K Bali, with exIAS, author and motivational speaker, Vivek Atray, shared humorous tales from the sportsfield in a session "Funny Tales".

Playwrite is a unique sports literature festival, co-founded by Vivek Atray, Hardeep Chandpuri, and Chitranjan Agarwal, in 2017 and is a regular natural feature that focusses primarily on sports literature.