Olympic champion Ezekiel Kemboi and renowned author and marathon runner, Sarah Gearhart, at the Ekamra Sports Literature Festival in Delhi on Saturday.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
“I wanted to be the best in the world. I wanted to win everything,” said two-time Olympic champion Ezekiel Kemboi as he gave an insight into the rich world of Kenyan athletics, in a lively discussion on various topics during the Ekamra Sports Literature Festival at the India Habitat Centre here on Saturday.
Renowned author-journalist Sarah Gearhart, herself a marathon runner of exceptional ability, provided further explanation on the richness of the Rift valley in Kenya producing world beaters, through a very basic but holistic training system.
“If you want to improve, you come to Ethiopia or Kenya. The air in Delhi is not friendly,” said the steeplechase legend Kemboi who has been crowned World champion four times. He said that he trained for endurance, speed, technique and that he loved attacking the hurdles.
Hinting at a career in coaching, Kemboi said that he would love to train Indian athletes. He predicted a bright career for Avinash Sable saying “the Indian guy is good. One day he can win in Olympics”.
The book by Olympic medallist Sakshi Malik was discussed at length with the author Jonathan Selvaraj and Sakshi’s husband Satyavrat Kadian, as they stressed that Sakshi had her story to tell in the larger interest of wrestling and women in sports, and it was her voice through the book.
Pinki Pramanik and Dutee Chand, two women athletes who have had a very troubled career, were frank in discussing the gender issues that they faced and the trauma they went through because of the overall ignorance on the subject at all levels.
Hockey stalwarts — former captain Pargat Singh and president of Hockey India Dilip Tirkey — expressed the importance of investing in human resources and sports talent at various age groups, especially in hockey.
“Sports builds character, but we compromise on character,” said Pargat, as he took a dig at the misplaced priorities and approach of the governing system.
The member-secretary of the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu, Meghanatha Reddy, pointed out how the Tamil Nadu government was prompt in supporting the carrom player M. Khazima who went on to win the women’s title in the recent World Cup, and how a chess tournament was organised quickly to help D. Gukesh earn a berth for the Candidates, which he eventually won and would be the challenger for the World title against Ding Liren.
On the chess front, Peter Doggers from the Netherlands talked about his book The Chess Revolution. Along with him, Grand Master Srinath Narayanan explained how the internet and availability of millions of games in computer data base had democratised the accessibility of the game to everyone, leading to world beaters emerging at a young age, especially in India.
The head coach of the Odisha Reliance Foundation, Martin Owens, said that India was potentially an athletic power house and needed lots of competition, to match the encouraging eco system. A bright young athlete Animesh Kujur said that he was happy to get the best guidance in a world class system, and looking forward to better performances.
The sports literature festival kicked off with police officer, Nidhin Valsan narrating his agonising experience of tackling two spells of cancer and coming on top as Ironman, completing the gruelling triathlon of swimming, cycling 90 kilometres and running the half marathon of 21.2 kilometres.
“It was my urge to live. And the will to never give up,” summed up Valsan, who has written the book From Cancer Man to Ironman.
Published – November 23, 2024 08:41 pm IST
