The Jharkhand government has announced a cash award of Rs 50 lakh each for the players hailing from the state who were part of the women’s hockey team which finished fourth in the Tokyo Olympics.
Chief Minister Hemant Soren said that the Indian women’s hockey team could not win a bronze medal in the Tokyo Olympics, but the way all the girls played against the last Olympic gold medallist Great Britain in the bronze medal match was commendable.
“I salute the entire Indian women’s hockey team. The daughters of Jharkhand and my sisters made a wonderful contribution to the performance of the Indian women’s team,” he said.
The Jharkhand government had announced before the start of the Olympics that Rs 2 crore each would be given to the players of the state for winning gold, one crore for winning silver and Rs 50 lakh for winning bronze. The Indian women’s team could not win the battle for bronze but for the better performance of players from Jharkhand, the government decided to modify its earlier decision and give Rs 50 lakh to all the players from the state included in the women’s hockey team and convert everyone’s ancestral house into a pucca house.
“There is an incomparable contribution of every player, coach and all the support staff in taking the Indian women’s team to this point. I and the whole of Jharkhand express my gratitude from the bottom of my heart and congratulations for the excellent performance and best wishes for the future,” the CM said.
He said that recently the government has provided jobs to sportspersons who have won medals at the international level and this will continue.