We don’t need official proclamation to love Hockey: Union Sports Minister

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KalingaTV News Network

Bhubaneswar: In a surprising statement, Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore on Thursday said that no official proclamation is required to love hockey.

“For loving sports and hockey, we do not need official proclamation. (Like) now (that) it is (our) national sport so let us start loving it. Even in terms of facilities, hockey is one of the priority sports of our country,” he was quoted by news agency ANI.

The Minister added that he would leave this up to the people who love Hockey whether they would want it to be declared a national sport officially or they would continue to love it even if it remains unofficial.

Rathore’s statements came a day after Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to officially notify Hockey as the national game of the country.

In his letter to PM Modi, Odisha Chief Minister noted that the game is hugely popular “across different strata of society and regions” and “cutting across the rural urban divide”.

“Hockey truly deserves to be notified as our National game. The next World Cup Hockey will be held in Odisha in November this year. While reviewing the preparations, I was surprised and shocked to know that what is popularly known as the National Game — Hockey, has in fact never been notified as our National Game,” Patnaik wrote.

Odisha will be hosting the Men’s Hockey World Cup scheduled to be held in November-December this year.

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