Sports / Odisha govt to sponsor Indian national hockey teams for another 10 years

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Tuesday announced the extension of the state government's sponsorship to Indian Hockey teams by 10 years and also handed over a cash award of Rs 10 lakh to each player for their historic feat in Tokyo Olympics.

The chief minister also announced cash award of Rs five lakh for each support staff of Indian Men's and Women's Hockey teams.

Announcing this while felicitating the national hockey teams at a programme here, Patnaik said �The two teams have scripted history with their brilliant performance at the Tokyo Olympics.

The state government, which has been sponsoring both men's and women's hockey teams since 2018, will continue to support the game for another 10 years in recognition of their achievement in Tokyo Olympics and their potential to be the top teams in the world, he said.

Patnaik felicitated the Indian women's hockey team captain Rani Rampal and its members and the "inspirational" men's hockey team captain Manpreet Singh and its members for bagging a bronze which was no less than a gold for India, a statement issued by the chief minister's office said.

Each team gifted a framed jersey autographed by the players to Patnaik as a token of the regard and appreciation.

You made us all so proud with your spirited fight in Tokyo. These are deeply emotional moments for India to witness the revival of Indian hockey, Patnaik said adding that for nearly four decades fans of the game have been yearning to see India win a medal at the Olympics.

It is quite evident from the way the entire country was glued to TV screens to watch the Indian hockey teams' matches that there is something more to hockey than just sports, he said.

Amidst the COVID pandemic, it is remarkable that our teams worked hard and emerged victorious. In these times of crises, the teams have brought smiles on the faces of crores of Indians. We all should be thankful to our boys and girls�, Patnaik said.

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, he said and expressed the optimism that the efforts of Odisha will herald a new era of Indian Hockey and bring back glory to the nation.

Patnaik also gave away 13 awards. In the men's team Harmanpreet Singh won the award for scoring the maximum number of goals, while P R Sreejesh won the one for saving the maximum number of goals.

Nilakanta Sharma won the award for being the player with maximum number of goal assists and Rupinder Pal Singh for maximum number of defensive tackles. Harmanpreet Singh and Amit Rohidas jointly won the award for maximum interceptions in the midfield.

In the women's team, Gurjit Kaur and Vandana Katariya won the award for scoring the maximum number of goals, Savita Punia won the maximum number of goals saved award. Rani Rampal and Navneet Kaur jointly won the award for player with maximum number of goal assists. Deep Grace Ekka and P Sushila Charu won awards for being players with maximum number of defensive tackles and for maximum interceptions in the midfield respectively.

Each of them were awarded Rs 5 lakh, an official statement said.

President of Indian Olympic Association, 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 was also felicitated by Patnaik.

The chief minister also felicitated Col (Dr) Bibhu Kalyan Nayak, who was appointed as the first Indian FIH Medical Officer for Tokyo Olympics and awarded him Rs 5 lakh at the ceremony.

Patnaik felicitated Hockey India president Gyanendro Ningombam, its secretary general, Rajinder Singh, CEO, Elena Norman and the entire Hockey India staff and awarded Rs. 50 lakh to the Federation.

Batra said with Odisha's continued support the Indian hockey teams will look to build on the achievements of Tokyo Olympics to take the game to its high levels of the past.

Ningombam said, This is indeed a jubilant time for Indian hockey with both our men and women's hockey teams achieving historic results at the Tokyo Olympics.

In 2009, when Hockey India was formed, the primary aim of the Indian Hockey Federation was to bring back the glorious days for the game in the country, he said.

This aim could not have been attained but for the unconditional support of Odisha government under the leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik ji who is himself a passionate lover of the sport,� he said.

Rani too thanked the Odisha government for its support and said its people were like the players' family members.

Manpreet Singh said "The Olympic bronze has been won by us as players, but in truth it belongs to India. It is a gift from Chief Minister Naveen Patnaikji whose vision and constant encouragement helped us achieve our dream of winning an Olympic medal after 41 years.

He (Patnaik) is a pillar of support for each one of us and this dream would not have been possible to achieve without his guidance and continued support, he said.

Earlier in the day the hockey teams arrived to a rousing welcome at the airport by fans and sports persons alike.