Keonjhar, Apr 10: Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Thursday participated in the 39th Sub-Junior Boys National Handball Championship held in the Keonjhar district. The event, which spans three days, has brought together budding handball talents from across the country.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, CM Majhi highlighted Keonjhar's longstanding connection with the sport.
"Handball has been played for almost 50 years in the Keonjhar district," he told the reporters, underlining the region's historical affinity with the game.
Congratulating the young athletes, the Chief Minister added, "I congratulate all of the players for participating in this three-day programme."
CM Majhi also emphasized the state government's commitment to enhancing sports infrastructure and promoting grassroots sports development across Odisha.
"To improve our economy and infrastructure, we are building stadiums from every Panchayat to every block. We have also made provisions of more than Rs 4,000 crores in our budget for this," he stated.
The championship is being seen as an important step towards nurturing young talent and reinforcing Odisha's growing reputation as an emerging sports hub in the country.
On April 7, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath inaugurated the All India Police Handball Cluster 2024-25 in Lucknow, underscoring the importance of sports in daily life.
Addressing participants and officials, CM Yogi expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for choosing Uttar Pradesh as the host to organise the national-level tournament.
He also pointed out that 500 medal-winning athletes who have represented India in international competitions have joined the Uttar Pradesh Police force through a special recruitment.
The Chief Minister also inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of various developmental projects worth Rs 91 crore at the Madan Mohan Malaviya University of Technology in Gorakhpur. (ANI)

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