Odisha: Chief Minister Shri Naveen Patnaik today congratulated the Indian men’s hockey team for entering the Olympic semi-finals. India will play the semi-finals of the Olympics after 41 years. He watched the entire match along with his principal secretary VK Pandian. Patnaik also tweeted his video.
Expressing happiness over the victory of the Indian team over Great Britain, the Chief Minister said that the national team is bringing color to the quarter-finals. He expressed hope that the team will maintain the winning streak in both the semi-finals and the Olympic final. It may be mentioned here that the Government of Odisha is the sponsor of both men’s and women’s Indian hockey team for five years from 2018.
Odisha is the only state which is promoting a national sport all over the country. Odisha is the cradle of hockey and the state government is putting a premium on hockey to help India regain its dominance in global hockey. Both the Indian men’s hockey and the Indian women’s hockey teams are entering the Olympic semi-finals and quarters respectively after 41 years.
Brilliant!
congratulations to indian men #Hockey The team that registered a spectacular victory in the quarter final against Great Britain #tokyo2020. The team continued its momentum and brought the much awaited medals for the country. Best wishes to the team.#cheer4india @theHockeyindia pic.twitter.com/9eBkrlyxY1
— Naveen Patnaik (@Naveen_Odisha) August 1, 2021
Government of Odisha is supporting Indian National Teams (Men/Women, Senior/Junior) as Official Sponsors since 2018 with an aim to bring back the glory of Indian Hockey. Odisha is a major contributor to the national game of hockey and many of its players have represented the Indian team. At present the vice-captain in men’s – Birendra Lakra and women’s team – Deep Grace Ekka is from Odisha.
Hockey is seen as part of the culture in many parts of the state and the love of the people of Odisha for hockey is reflected in the strong commitment of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik towards the development of hockey. Odisha is the only state to sponsor any national team.
Odisha in partnership with Hockey India has organized all major hockey tournaments in Bhubaneswar including Men’s World Cup, World League, Pro-League, Olympic Qualifiers etc.
This constant support ensured consistency in the performance of the Indian teams. So far both the men’s and women’s teams have performed well in the Olympics. Indians’ dream of seeing a medal again for Indian hockey in the Olympics is not far from hope.
Naveen Patnaik has always promoted hockey and its players. He made Dilip Tirkey a Rajya Sabha MP. Tirkey is a former Olympian and the captain of the Indian hockey team. Now a days he is working as Chairman of Odisha Tourism Development Corporation.
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