SONEPUR: The weavers of Sonepur, famous for Bandha or tie and dye textile, will add one more feather in their colourful cap as ikat scarves specially-designed by them will be presented to the Indian Men’s Hockey team which won the bronze in Tokyo Olympics recently.
The traditional scarves will be presented to the players at a felicitation ceremony in Kalinga Stadium on August 17. The State government had commissioned the weavers to deliver the scarves with hockey logos in them for the event.
The scarves have been made by renowned weavers of Menda, Brahmanipali and Sagaratala villages under the supervision of master weaver Uttam Meher. Made of Sambalpuri cloth, the pieces will showcase elements such as the Tokyo Olympics logo and hockey sticks with attractive knots and natural colours.
The Indian Men’s Hockey team created history at the recently-concluded Tokyo Olympics by winning a medal after 41 years. After the historic feat, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik congratulated the team and invited the players to Odisha. Notably, Odisha government has been the official sponsor of the national hockey men’s and women’s team since 2018.