PMK youth wing leader Anbumani Ramadoss announced prize money of ₹10 lakh to the Indian women’s hockey team, which fought hard against Great Britain before losing in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics recently.
In a statement on Friday, Mr. Anbumani said he was saddened to see the entire Indian women’s hockey team in tears after losing to Great Britain.
“They may have lost the match, but they have won the hearts of the Indians. There is no need to shed tears. Rather, they have made India proud,” he said.
Mr. Anbumani pointed out that this was the first time the Indian women’s hockey team had reached the semifinals of the Olympic Games.
“Not many would have known the pain and the hardwork that had gone into this achievement. While other teams had world class training facilities, the Indian team did not have it. They trained in local grounds under severe restrictions. Teams of other countries received several crore rupees in sponsorship deals, but the Indian team didn’t. While they got money from the Odisha government, it wasn’t enough to cover their basic expenses for the team to participate in the Olympics,” he said.
“The team, led by Rani Rampal, had 8 players participating in their first Olympic games out of the total of 16 players. Also, the players were under mental distress because some people indulged in violence outside Vandana Katariya’s house. Despite all these hardships, the team defeated strong teams like Australia and went to the semifinals. This achievement should be etched in golden words in the history of women’s hockey in India,” he said.
“Though you led in the first half against Great Britain, the game changed only in the end. There is no need to shed tears. The world is going to see all of you win the gold medal in the next Olympic Games and shed tears of joy. I would like to congratulate all of you for that now. I would like to present ₹10 lakh on behalf of Pattali Makkal Katchi,” he said.
