Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday felicitated the Indian Under-18 Girls’ Rugby Team honoured them with a cash award of Rs 5 lakhs for winning Silver at Asia Rugby Under-18 Girls’ Rugby Sevens Championship 2021 held at Tashkent in Uzbekistan.
A total of five countries from across Asia including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, United Arab Emirates, India and the host Uzbekistan had participated in the tournament.
Congratulating the team in their success, the Chief Minister said, “You played brilliantly and narrowly missed the gold. We are very proud of this achievement. You have shown grit, speed, skill and fierce determination. I am sure this is the start of a new journey in the coming years, you all will make history.”
The team thanked the Chief Minister for his constant support to sports, particularly Rugby.
Odisha Sports Minister Tusharkanti Behera was present during the felicitation event.
It is to be noted here that three students from Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) Deemed to be University- Tarulata Naik, Mama Nayak and Nirmalya Rout- were part of the Indian rugby team.
Ms Kalinga