BHUBANESWAR: Private Secretary to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and 5T Secretary VK Pandian was conferred with the FIH President’s Award for his outstanding efforts to promote hockey in the State during the 47th International Hockey Federation (FIH) Congress on Saturday.
The newly-elected FIH president Dr Narinder Batra presented the prestigious award to Pandian virtually.
Under the able guidance of Pandian, the State has successfully hosted many national and international sporting events in Odisha.
The government had upgraded Kalinga Stadium into a world-class sports facility to host the 16-nation Men’s Hockey World Cup in 2018. It had also successfully hosted other international hockey tournaments like Champions Trophy, Hockey World League and FIH Pro-League. The 2023 FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup is to be held in Bhubaneswar and Sundargarh.