Bhubaneswar, India, August 18, 2021: The President of the Indian Olympic Association, Narinder Dhruv Batra, has thanked the Chief Minister of Odisha for the continued support of India’s hockey heroes at Tokyo 2020.
The men’s team won the bronze medal – the first medal since the eighth and last of their gold medals at Moscow 1980 – and the women’s team reached the semi-finals and finished fourth. Both teams captivated the nation along the way.
In a Facebook post, President Batra says: “Hon'ble Chief Minister of Odisha, Shri Naveen Patnaik Jee, on 17th August, 2021 in Bhubaneswar, Odisha felicitated the Indian men’s and women’s hockey teams with cash awards individually and also performance-based during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
“Hon'ble Chief Minister had earlier felicitated the hockey players - men from Odisha who won the bronze medal, were awarded Rs 2.50 Crores (USD 336,000) each, and the women's team, which finished 4th in the Tokyo Olympics, were awarded Rs 50.00 Lacs (USD 67,500) each.
“All the athletes and officials were given financial awards today irrespective of whether they were from Odisha or not. They were honored as Indian athletes.
“Odisha becomes the first state in India on 17th August to honor and award athletes from outside Odisha also.”
President Batra also reported that the Chief Minister announced the extension of the Hockey India jersey sponsorship contract by another 10 years, from 2023 to 2033.
“Thank you Hon'ble Chief Minister Sir, this will help hockey in achieving many greater heights. We once again thank you for your vision and support for hockey.”
The captains and vice captains of the men’s and women’s teams presented shirts signed by all members of the Tokyo 2020 teams to the Chief Minister.
Source: Dr Narinder Dhruv Batra Facebook
