Indian hockey teams have made the country proud with their stellar performance in the recently concluded Tokyo Olympics. But the Odisha government is not all satisfied with the felicitations the teams had received so far. The respective state assembly has passed a unanimous resolution to greet the teams that performed adventurously at the quadrennial games.
While moving the resolution Tusharkanti Behera, Sports Minister, Odisha, said, “The Indian men’s team won the bronze medal. The team showed great resilience, skill and fitness. After 41 years, the team won a medal at the Olympics defeating the leading hockey-playing nations in the world. The Indian women’s team performance was beyond all expectations. They showed great fighting spirit. Even though they couldn’t win a medal, they won the hearts of the nation by finishing fourth.”
“On behalf of the House, I extend my greetings and congratulations to the Indian men and women hockey teams for their historic successes at the Tokyo Olympics and wish them more glory and laurels in the coming years,” he continued.
He also said that it’s a matter of pride for Odisha to be recognised as the force behind the triumph of the national teams at the Olympics.
Assuring that Odisha will continue supporting the sport with a glorious past in India, the minister said CM Naveen Patnaik has taken another historic step by announcing sponsorship to hockey for ten more years.
Odisha will be the home to Indian hockey and will continue to support it till India becomes a world champion, he added.
“We are organising the men’s hockey World Cup in January 2023 and India’s largest hockey stadium is being built in Rourkela for the mega event. We are investing in grassroot-level hockey training centres. A high-performance centre has been established at the Kalinga Stadium. Many boys and girls from Odisha will represent the country in the coming years,” he stated.
