By Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday felicitated the players from Odisha in the IndianHockeyTeam at a function in Kalinga Stadium . Deep Grace Ekka, Namita Toppo, Birendra Lakra and Amit Rohidas were part of the teams which created history at the Tokyo2020.
Minister for Sports and Youth Services Tusharkanti Behera and Chairman, Odisha Hockey Promotion Council, Dilip Tirkey, Secretary 5-T V K Pandian and Secretary Sports R Vineel Krishna also graced the ceremony.
Chief Minister handed over the cash award of Rs 2.5 crores to Birendra Lakra & Amit Rohidas. CM also handed over the offer letter for appointment as Deputy Superintendent of Police in the Odisha Police . He appreciated the performance of the players in winning Bronze medal for the country.
Chief Miniser Patnaik also handed over cash award of Rs 50 lakhs each to Deep Grace Ekka and Namita Toppo, who were part of the Indian Women’s Hockey team at the Tokyo Olympics. He commended the spirited fight of the women’s team in reaching the semi-finals and creating history in Indian Hockey.
Chief Minister Patnaik advised them to continue their hard work and bring more laurels to the country. CM also assured them full support in future.
Kalinga Stadium has become the global hub of Hockey. The next edition of Men’s Hockey World Cup will also be played Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar. The Players were excited to be back at their home turf where they had competed against the best in the world which helped them in their journey to Olympics.
They expressed their deep sense of gratitude towards the Chief Minister for supporting Indian Hockey which led to wonderful results in Tokyo Olympics. The Olympians were elated that the State Government has fulfilled its commitment of cash rewards and jobs on their arrival in the State.
