Bhubaneswar: Odisha has won the ‘Best State for the Promotion of Sports’ at the 2023 Sportstar Aces Awards.
It’s the fourth time that Odisha has been recognised since the inception of the awards, which recognise excellence in sports in India.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik received the prestigious award from legendary Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar and The Hindu editor Suresh Nambath at the Sportstar awards ceremony in Mumbai on Monday evening.
Thanking The Hindu group and Sportstar, Naveen dedicated the award to the people of Odisha.
“This event serves as a wonderful platform to celebrate their (athletes) contributions to the world of sports and to inspire future generations to pursue their passions. Athletes are the true ambassadors of our country, and it is our duty to support and encourage them in every way possible,” the CM said.
“We are making huge investment in sports, which is investment in youth and therefore investment in our future. We have increased our budget for sports by more than 10 times in last five years. In the coming year, our sports budget is more than 1200 crore. I invite you to be and be part of Odisha’s sporting journey and together we can bring glory to Indian sports. It’s the collective dream of all Indian to see the national flag fly high at the Olympics. We should all work together and make it a reality,” Naveen added.
The recognition is a salutation of the state’s unique sports model, built around the pillars of partnership for sporting excellence, competition, coaching, infrastructure and welfare schemes for meritorious athletes.
Sportspersons from Odisha have achieved laurels by winning medals at international and national competitions.
Odisha has also been hosting several major international and national competitions with great success.
The most recent one, FIH Odisha Men’s Hockey World Cup 2023 held in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela, garnered worldwide attention and admiration.
In 2022, Odisha also hosted the Odisha Open, SAAF U-20 Championship, FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, FIBA 2022 (SABA Qualifiers), FIH Hockey Pro League, as well as National-level tournaments like Indian Women’s League, Aquatic Junior Nationals, IWLF Youth Juniors and Senior National Weightlifting Championship 2022, Para Athletics Championship and Para Badminton Nationals.
The Odisha government, under the leadership of the CM, has also been prioritising development of sports infrastructure in the state, including state-of-the-art facilities that serve as a training ground for budding athletes.
The Kalinga Sports Complex, one of the finest sports facilities in India, houses Kalinga Stadium, India’s first Indoor Athletics Centre, Tennis courts, Indoor Aquatics Centre, Hockey High Performance Centre. The construction of a Sports Science Centre is almost complete.
The Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium in Rourkela, which hosted the recent FIH World Cup, was inducted into the Guinness World Records as the world’s largest fully-seated hockey stadium.
The facility, which also houses an Olympic-style Hockey Village with 225 rooms, was built in just 15 months.
Odisha is also developing 90 multi-purpose indoor halls in different urban centres.
