Odisha Now a Global Hub Of Hockey: CM Naveen Patnaik

Bhubaneswar : Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today presented Biju Patnaik Sports Award to outstanding sports persons and coaches on the occasion of National Sports Day celebrated through video conferencing.

Jayanti Behera and Deep Grace Ekka received the Biju Patnaik Sports Award for outstanding performance in sports and games. Both of them received Rs.2 lakh cash award each. Similarly Biju Patnaik Bravery Award was received by Purnima Giri and Sabita Giri who received cash award of rupees one lakh each, medal and citation. Biju Patnaik Sports Award for excellence in coaching went to Satya Ranjan Patnaik. He received cash award of rupees one lakh.

Besides Siba Prasad Das received a cash award of Rs.32,50,000 for coaching to sports persons with disability. Among others, Padmini Rout, Hupi Majhi, Rajashree Mohapatra, Manisha Merel, Pratyasha Ray also received cash awards.

Speaking on the occasion, Patnaik congratulated the award winners and spoke about the initiatives of the state for making Odisha a global centre of sports.

The Chief Minister said, “Today we are celebrating National Sports Day on the birth anniversary of Indian Hockey legend Dhyan Chand. I pay my sincere tributes to the wizard of Indian hockey on this occasion. My greetings to all the Sports persons and sports lovers across the State on this great occasion. I congratulate all the award winners on this occasion. They have displayed excellent talent and hard work and brought laurels to the State and country. The passion, drive and determination of these sports persons are commendable and I wish them more glory in the times ahead.

I congratulate the two young girls of Kendrapara who have received the Bravery Award for showing such exceptional courage and saving many lives. They are indeed a shining example of selfless service and an inspiration for the youth.

Sport is the symbol of youth power. It demonstrates energy, power, dynamism, team spirit and above all, an irrepressible desire for winning. A society that loves sport develops great potential for success in every other field. Our legendary leader Biju Babu himself was a great sports person and promoted sports all along his life. We are now in the process of realising his dreams of making Odisha a buzzing centre of sports.

Odisha has become a major centre of sports activities in the last few years. Today Odisha is known globally as a hub of hockey and we are going to host yet another edition of Hockey World Cup in 2023.

Our focus is on the development of sports infrastructure and coaching facilities at grassroots level sports. Best of the coaches from across the World have been engaged in our high performance centres in various sports disciplines to provide top class coaching. I am sure; our sports persons will continue to excel in national and international sports and bring glory to the State in the coming years.

The world is going through a great crisis due to the Covid pandemic. The importance of sports and fitness has once again been highlighted by this pandemic. We wish to further promote sports to enhance the physical and mental health of our citizens in the State. More than the medals, sports and fitness activities should become a way of life in our society.”

Speaking on the occasion, Sports & YS Minister Tusharkanti Behera said that the objective of the state is to become the best in sports and games. Therefore, we are encouraging young talents of the state into sports and games. Former Indian Hockey Captain and MP Padmashree Dillip Tirkey recalled the memories of Biju Babu as a great sports person. Today all the sports persons across the world are interested in playing in Odisha. This is certainly a matter of pride for all of us, he added. He expected Odisha will soon produce players who can participate in Olympics and win for India.