BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday interacted with the Indian U-18 Girls Rugby team and honoured them with a cash award of Rs 5 lakh for winning silver at Asia Rugby U-18 Girls Rugby Sevens Championship 2021 held at Tashkent in Uzbekistan.
Five countries from across Asia including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, United Arab Emirates, India and the host Uzbekistan participated.
Congratulating the team, 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. Minister of State for Sports Tusharkanti Behera was also present.