The Odisha government will sponsor the national kho kho team for the next three years.

The chief minister’s office in a release said: "The state government will sponsor the kho kho team from January 2025 to December 2027. The state will spend around ₹5 crore every year."

The Odisha Mining Corporation and the state government will bear the expenditure for the kho kho team.

The announcement of the sponsorship came just 10 days ahead of the Kho Kho World Cup in New Delhi, which is scheduled to be held from January 13 to 19.

The state government is hopeful that this move will build Odisha’s image globally in sports.

After hockey, this is the second sport that the Odisha government has decided to sponsor. Odisha is now the official sponsor of Indian hockey teams, both men’s and women’s, till 2036.

After Sahara India backed out from sponsoring the Indian hockey team in 2017, questions were raised over the future of hockey in India. At this juncture, the Odisha government announced its sponsorship for the teams.

The men's hockey team clinched bronze in the Tokyo Olympics 2020 and the Paris Olympics 2024.