Bhubaneswar: Gurjit Kaur’s brilliant drag-flick helped India women’s hockey team pull off a 1-0 victory over Australia in the quarter-final on Monday.
Now, both men and women teams have sealed a spot in the semi-finals in Tokyo Olympics. While it is first-ever for the women squad in Olympic Games, the men in blue finally made the cut after 41 years, when they had won the gold in the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
The victories have put the focus back on Odisha, which has been sponsoring the national hockey teams for the last six years. The state and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is being praised for supporting hockey, the national sport.
In 2018, the Odisha government replaced Sahara as the sponsor of Indian hockey teams. The state has also developed world-class facilities and hosted multiple tournaments, including the 2018 Men’s Hockey World Cup.
Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant hailed Odisha’s contribution to the sport in a tweet. “Bhubaneswar first city to achieve 100% COVID vaccination, Puri first city to supply 24×7 drinking water. Congrats @Naveen_Odisha & the people of Odisha for these achievements and for also sponsoring our national men & women hockey teams since 2018, who have now reached the semis!”
“Celebrate the joy of 2 hockey teams in Olympic S-F, remember to send a humble thank-you note to Odisha and its CM @Naveen_Odisha….For 6 years now, the not-so-rich state has sponsored & nursed both men and women’s hockey teams. If only more states were to spend on sport,” tweeted veteran journalist Shekhar Gupta.
Another senior journalist Rajdeep Sardesai wrote: The one neta who deserves a big salaam today is @Naveen_Odisha. At a time when most netas want to be BCCI members, corporates want IPL glamour, Odisha govt has invested in hockey, sponsored both women and men teams, built world-class infra. Take a bow Odisha!#hockeyindia (sic)”
Actor Rahul Bose tweeted, “Since 2018 I have watched @sports_odisha @Naveen_Odisha and the entire sports ecosystem in the state back @TheHockeyIndia. Today must be a sweet day for all.”
