Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday handed over cash awards of Rs 2.5 crore each and an offer letter for appoint in the rank of deputy superintendent of police (DSP) to Birendra Lakra and Amit Rohidas, the two players from Odisha who were part of the Indian Hockey Team that scripted history by clinching the bronze medal ending a 41-year-long medal drought for the country in Olympic hockey. DSP posts are treated as junior class one.
Naveen also handed over a cash award of Rs 50 lakh each to Deep Grace Ekka and Namita Toppo, who were part of the Indian Women’s Hockey team that narrowly missed the bronze medal. He commended fighting the spirit of the women’s team that rewrote history by reaching the semi-finals of Olympic hockey for the first time. Naveen advised them to continue their hard work and bring more laurels for the country. The chief minister also assured them of his government's full support in future.
Birendra Lakra, the vice-captain of the men’s team, presented to the chief minister the team jersey with signatures of all the team members. Deep Grace Ekka, the vice-captain of the women’s team, presented to the Chief Minister the Team Jersey with the signatures of all the women team members.
It may be mentioned here that the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar has turned into a global hub of hockey. It hosted the men’s Hockey World Cup in 2018 and is now all set to host the next edition of the tournament in 2023. Some of the matches will also be played at the upcoming Birsa Munda stadium at Rourkela, the steel city located in Sundergarh district which has been the cradle of hockey in the state and the country. The new stadium is coming up at a cost of Rs 120 crore.
Thanking the Odisha government for its magnanimous gesture towards hockey players, Rohidas also recalled that his father, who died last year due to kidney failure, had a dream to see him winning a medal for the country in the Olympics. “He had a major contribution in my reaching where I am. He must been very happy and proud to see us return with an Olympic medal,” said the ace defender.
Birendra Lakra said: “It was a tough journey and we got everyone’s support to earn the medal. We made a lot of sacrifices during the journey and remained committed and determined to achieve our goal. Odisha government’s unflinching support has helped us in realising our dreams.”
Odisha has also announced to set up 89 multipurpose indoor stadiums at a cost of Rs 693.35 crore to produce Olympians in the coming days. All the stadiums will be completed within 18 months. Minister for sports and youth services Tusharkanti Behera and chairman, Odisha Hockey Promotion Council, Dilip Tirkey, private secretary to chief minister V.K. Pandian and secretary sports R. Veenil Krishna also graced the felicitation ceremony.
The four hockey players from Odisha, who represented the country at the Tokyo Olympics, had been given a rousing reception on their arrival at the Biju Patnaik airport here on Tuesday.
