Continuing with its efforts to promote sports, the Odisha cabinet on Monday extended the sponsorship of Indian men's & women's national hockey teams for another 10 years.
Odisha government, which has been the official sponsor since 2018, has decided to continue with the sponsorship of the teams (both senior and junior) from 2023 to 2033. A sum of Rs 434.12 crores (excluding applicable taxes) will be released by Odisha Mining Corporation Ltd (OMC) to Hockey India during the period from February 1, 2023 to January 31, 2033.
OMC had earlier entered into an agreement with Hockey India, after due government approval, for sponsorship of the Indian Hockey teams (men/women, senior and junior) for a period of 5 years from 2018 to 2023.
Based on a request from the President of Hockey India for an extension of the agreement, OMC had sought approval from the state government, which has been cleared by the Odisha cabinet.
It is pertinent to mention here that the men’s team had won a bronze medal after 41 years at the Tokyo Olympics while the women’s team had reached the semi-finals for the first time.