Odisha, the hub of hockey, won the Sportstar Aces Award for the Best State for the Promotion of Sports for the second successive year.
The state has been producing top athletes like Dutee Chand, hockey star Deep Grace Ekka, World No. 1 para-shuttler Pramod Bhagat, among others.
Odisha’s Sports Minister Tusharkanti Behera, who received the award in Mumbai, said: “The commitment of our government and enthusiasm of the people of Odisha towards sports is immense. I dedicate this award to the people of Odisha for their unflinching encouragement and support; and to the sportspersons of the State who have brought recognition and accolades for their State, both at the national and international platforms.”
The State of Odisha, which is also the sponsor of the Indian hockey teams, organised two major hockey series this year: the FIH Hockey Series Finals and FIH Hockey Qualifiers in Bhubaneswar which saw India clinching its spot in the Tokyo Olympics. It was also the host of the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championship in Cuttack and Minerva Punjab’s AFC Cup match. The State, which allotted a budget of Rs. 220 crore for sports this financial year, will be hosting the Khelo India University Games in February this year. Odisha also hosted the FIH Hockey Pro League (men’s) in January.
Odisha, which hosted the 2018 Men’s Hockey World Cup in Bhubaneswar 2018 has also won the bid to host the 2023 Hockey World Cup. The State has created seven High Performance Centres in various sports disciplines and is in the process of setting up 17 synthetic pitches in Sundargarh district.
“In Odisha, Sports is a priority sector. In alignment with the Honourable Chief Minister’s vision, ‘Sports for Youth, Youth for Future’, we have set a benchmark in investing in and developing infrastructure and hosting mega sporting events across disciplines and we are working closely with sportspersons and corporates and federations to strengthen the sporting ecosystem across the State,” the minister said.
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, chess ace Vishwanathan Anand, The Hindu Publishing Group chairman N. Ram, former India hockey captain M. M. Somaya, Olympian shooter Anjali Bhagwat and Olympian shuttler Aparna Popat selected the deserving winners in categories involving young athletes, teams, coaches and parathletes.
The awards look to create a medium of knowledge and vision exchange as it brings all stakeholders of Indian sports under one roof.
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