Odisha to sponsor Indian hockey teams for another 10 years

Bhubaneswar, Aug 17: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today announced to support the Indian hockey teams for 10 more years. Odisha government had earlier signed a deal with Hockey India in 2018 to sponsor the men’s and women’s hockey teams over the next 5 years. Patnaik made the announcement while felicitating the men’s and women’s hockey teams at the Convention Centre, Lokaseva Bhavan today. The Odisha government today felicitated the Tokyo Olympics stars today during a special programme. While the men’s team won bronze after a gap of 41 years in the Olympics, the women’s team missed the medal by a whisker. In recognition of their achievement and their potential to be the top teams in the world, Chief Minister announced that Odisha will continue to sponsor Indian hockey teams, for another 10 years. Chief Minister felicitated Captain Rani Rampal and women’s team and also felicitated the inspirational captain, Manpreet Singh and men’s team for bagging a bronze which was no less than a gold for India. Each player was awarded Rs 10 lakh and each support staff was awarded Rs 5 lakh by the Chief Minister. As a token of regards and appreciation, each team gifted a framed jersey autographed by the players to the Chief Minister. Addressing the gathering, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, said, “You made us all so proud with your spirited fight at Tokyo.  These are deeply emotional moments for India to witness the revival of Indian Hockey. For nearly four decades, the hockey fans have been yearning to see India grab a medal at the Olympics. The way the entire country was glued to the screens to watch the Hockey teams’ matches, it is quite evident there is something more to hockey than just sports. He further said that in the back ground of the Covid pandemic, it is remarkable that our teams have worked so hard in spite of all challenges and emerged victorious. “In these crisis times, the teams have brought smiles on the faces of crores of Indians. We all should be thankful to our boys and girls.,the CM added.We, in Odisha, are elated that our partnership with Hockey India has led to this great achievement for the country. I believe, Odisha and Hockey are destined to become synonymous. We will continue our partnership with Hockey India. Odisha will support the Indian Hockey teams for 10 more years. This will herald a new era of Indian Hockey and bring back the glory to the nation,” added Patnaik. Patnaik also gave away 13 awards. In the men’s team, Harmanpreet Singh won the player with maximum number of goals scored. PR Sreejesh won the player with the maximum number of goals saved while Nilakanta Sharma won the player with maximum number of goal assists. Similarly Rupinder Pal Singh won the player with maximum number of defensive tackles and Harmanpreet Singh and Amit Rohidas for player with maximum interceptions in the midfield. In the Women’s team, Gurjit Kaur and Vandana Katariya won the player with maximum number of goals scored, Savita Punia won the player with the maximum number of goals saved, Rani Rampal and Navneet Kaur jointly won the player with maximum number of goal assists, Deep Grace Ekka won the player with maximum number of defensive tackles and P Sushila Chanu for player with maximum interceptions in the midfield. Each were awarded Rs 5 lakh. President, Indian Olympic Association, Dr Narinder Dhruv Batra who has played a key role in the development of Olympic sports and sportspersons and in the revival of hockey in India and the prominence of Hockey around the globe was also felicitated by the Chief Minister.