Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri on Friday felicitated the 11 players who were part of the Bronze medal winning men’s hockey team at Tokyo Olympics and are employees of various public sector oil companies such as ONGC, Bharat Petroleum, Indian Oil and Hindustan Petroleum.

He announced a reward of Rs 15 lakh to each of the 11 players, who were part of the 18-member team. The Minister also announced that these players will also be given one out-of-turn promotion by their respective organization for the outstanding performance in Tokyo.

Puri said that it is a matter of delight that the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas is part of the re-scripting of history in the field of hockey. He said that Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB) with the support of 15 PSUs continues to promote and encourage sports and sportspersons, by continuously conducting sports activities, camps and providing scholarships.

Due to these consistent efforts, this year in Tokyo Olympics, 22 players in 6 disciplines were from the petroleum sector. The minister expressed confidence that the Indian players will keep putting their best performance and bring more medals in the years to come. He also congratulated the women hockey team for their superlative performance. The Minister assured the players of the Government’s full support in their endeavours. He said that these stars have rekindled the spirit that Indian hockey is back in action.