Is Hockey National Game of India or Not? Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Writes to PM Narendra Modi Asking Hockey to be Notified as National Game
In the year 2012, a ten-year-old girl, Aishwarya Parashar had filed an RTI through her parents asking if Hockey is the National Game of India. The reply from the Union ministry of youth affairs stumped her and so will everyone who reads this.
We have all grown up hearing and believing that Hockey is the National Game of India. But Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to notify Hockey as the national game. The Odisha Chief Minister said that he was shocked when he learnt that Hockey has never been notified as the National Game of India. The 2018 Men's Hockey World Cup will be held in Odisha in November this year.
In his quote he said that, "The next Hockey Men's World Cup will be held in Odisha in November. I was surprised & shocked to know that what is popularly know as national game has in fact never been notified as our national game."
So what really is the reality? Has Hockey never been the National Game of India as is the popular belief. In the year 2012, a ten-year-old girl, Aishwarya Parashar had filed an RTI through her parents asking if Hockey is the National Game of India. The reply from the Union ministry of youth affairs stumped her and so will everyone who reads this. The ministry clearly said that India "does not have a national game as no game has been notified as such." Well, this is something that is bound to surprise many who have always believed that Hockey is the National Game of India.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 20, 2018 04:40 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).