Rs 11 lakh each, and a room full of gold: Odisha honours India’s Asian Games champions
Winning an Asian Games gold gets you a medal. Winning it the way India’s two teams just did gets you a homecoming like this.
On Friday, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi felicitated the Indian men’s and women’s hockey teams and awarded Rs 11 lakh to every player from both squads, in the presence of state Sports Minister Suryabanshi Suraj. Both teams won gold at the Asian Games 2026 in Japan, and both booked their tickets to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics by doing it.
Two golds, two very different stories
The men’s final was a statement. India beat Malaysia 5-1 to take gold, back-to-back Asian Games titles for Harmanpreet Singh’s side, and the Olympic berth that comes with it. Job done, no drama.
The women’s final was the opposite. India beat China 1-0, Lalremsiami scoring in the 10th minute, and that single goal ended a 44-year wait. India’s women hadn’t won Asian Games gold since 1982. Salima Tete’s team didn’t just win a tournament in Japan, they closed a gap that had been open for most of their parents’ lifetimes.
“True icons and role models”
Majhi called both teams “true icons and role models” for India’s youth, and a source of national pride. “Today is a moment of great pride as we celebrate the Indian men’s and women’s hockey teams, who won gold medals at the Asian Games and secured their places at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics,” he said. “With the blessings of Lord Jagannath and the support of 1.4 billion Indians, I am confident that our players will succeed at the Olympics.”
Harmanpreet said he was delighted both teams had won gold and qualified directly, and welcomed the recognition. “It’s wonderful to receive such recognition and be part of an event that celebrates and motivates all the players. We’re very happy to be here,” he said.
Tete thanked the Odisha government for standing by the teams. “It motivates us to keep performing well. We love coming back to Odisha and are grateful for the love and support we receive,” she told ANI. “The government has always stood by us whenever we needed help. We hope this support continues, and we will do our best to perform well at the Olympics.”
Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey also thanked the state, saying Odisha has always supported Indian hockey and that he hoped the federation and the state government would keep working together.
Why Odisha keeps showing up
There’s a reason this felicitation happened in Bhubaneswar and not somewhere else. Odisha has bankrolled Indian hockey for years, hosted World Cups, and built the stadiums the national teams train in. When the medals come home, they come home here first. That’s not ceremony, it’s a relationship, and Friday was the latest chapter of it.
Next stop for both teams is the build-up to LA 2028. The men’s side is back in action almost immediately, at the Asian Champions Trophy in Punjab starting 27 October. The golds are banked. The hard part, as always, is what comes next.
