Notify Hockey As National Game: Odisha CM Tweets An Open Letter To PM

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik was on a tweet spree, all of which were related to hockey, on Wednesday. He tweeted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a letter attached, speaking about how hockey deserves to be notified as India’s National Game.

Here’s what he tweeted:

Prior to this, in the morning, he took to Twitter to congratulate Hockey Women’s team for their impressive performance and win against Spain, while taking pride in brand Odisha displayed big and bright on player’s T-shirt. Among the players in the team, Deep Grace Ekka, Sunita Lakra, Lilima Minz, Namita Toppo and Anupa Barla were from Odisha.

In February, the state government had announced that it would sponsor Indian hockey teams, both men and women. The deal is estimated to be around Rs 150 crores for five years. Odisha’s name dons the jersey of hockey players.

Naveen further wrote about hockey’s popularity in tribal areas of Odisha and Jharkhand.

Reminiscing about India’s first Olympic gold when National Hockey team defeated Great Britain in 1948, he tweeted how inspiring it was.

While Indian Women’s Hockey team ended their Spain tour on a bright note, Men’s Hockey Team has left for the Rabobank Men’s Hockey Champion Trophy Breda 2018.

This November, Odisha will host the Men’s Hockey World Cup. Last month, CM had launched online ticket sale for the tournament.