State awards Rs 11L each to women hockey players

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Saturday announced cash rewards of Rs 11 lakh each for the players of the Indian women’s hockey team for winning the gold medal at the Asian Games. Each support staffer of the team will also be awarded Rs 5.5 lakh.

India ended a 44-year wait for the Asian Games women’s hockey gold and qualified for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics by upstaging defending champions and Olympic silver-medallists China 1-0 in the final on Friday. CMO Odisha, in a social media post, said, “Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri Mohan Charan Majhi has announced a cash reward of Rs 11 lakh each for the players and Rs 5.5 lakh each for the support staff of the Indian women’s hockey team in recognition of their historic gold medal at the Asian Games 2026.”

The Chief Minister congratulated the team for their outstanding performance, determination and commitment, which have brought immense pride to the nation, it said. The Odisha government stands firmly with Indian hockey and remains committed to supporting and nurturing sporting excellence, the CMO added.

“The cash prize for the players announced by the Chief Minister is over and above the one that has been announced by Hockey India yesterday,” Odisha’s Sports Department Secretary Bhupendra Singh Poonia said. The Indian women’s hockey team had last won the gold medal at the Asian Games in 1982.

The Odisha government will remain the official sponsor of the Indian men’s and women’s hockey teams (both senior and junior) till 2036. In 2018, it became the first Indian state to sponsor national hockey teams.

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The Hans India