The men's team made it to the semi-finals after 41 years, while the women's team reached the level for the very first time.
When the Naveen Patnaik government in Odisha signed an agreement with Hockey India in 2018 to sponsor both men's and women's national teams for five years, critics wondered whether a poor state frequently ravaged by natural calamities could afford to contribute ₹100 crore from the public exchequer to the game.
Exactly three years later, the Odisha government came out with a full-page advertisement in all national and local dailies on Tuesday, announcing: "Odisha is proud to have partnered with Hockey India in this remarkable journey."
The occasion was the national men's and women's hockey teams entering the semi-finals of the Tokyo Olympics. The men's team made it to the semi-finals after 41 years, while the women's team reached the level for the very first time.
The man behind the state's sponsorship of the hockey teams, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, gave a befitting reply to critics saying, "Investment in sports is an investment in youth. Investment in youth is an investment in the future."
Noting that this mantra made Odisha focus on hockey, which is almost a way of life for the tribal population, Patnaik asserted, "The children in Sundargarh district learn walking by holding a hockey stick."
He said that the five-year sponsorship deal was Odisha's gift to the nation, silencing critics including opposition parties, while also raising the sponsorship amount to ₹150 crore in five years.
"Thirty-eight champions script history in hockey, 1.3 billion Indians walk an inch taller," the Odisha government announced.
As the nation's stake in hockey escalated, Patnaik turned ecstatic and paid a standing ovation to Team India while watching the quarterfinals of the Olympics on television. The next day, sporting a black tee-shirt and a trouser, an otherwise shy and introvert Naveen showed a 'thumps up' gesture while celebrating the victories.
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