Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur expressed his delight over the initiative that was taken in the Asian Champions Trophy in order to give back to nature.
Anurag Thakur arrived at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium to watch the Asian Champions Trophy final match between India and Malaysia.
He called the entire tournament a great success and expressed his delight over the initiative where ten trees will be planted if a player scores a goal. He went on to reveal that with this initiative around 660 trees have been planted.
“So far the tournament has been a great success. Hockey India and Tamil Nadu have done whatever they could do to give the best of the best facilities to the players, officials. One initiative, they started is to give back to the forest. If you score a goal, we plant ten trees. Around 660 trees have been planted so far. It’s a very good initiative,” Anurag Thakur said while speaking to mediapersons.
Earlier in the day, Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey and Secretary General Bhola Nath Singh received the Union Sports Minister at the Chennai Airport.
“Hockey India President Padma Shri Dr. Dilip Tirkey and Hockey India Secretary General Bhola Nath Singh welcomed Hon’ble Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting and Youth Affairs & Sports, Government of India, Anurag Thakur at Chennai Airport this morning. The Minister has arrived in Chennai to witness the Final of the Hero Asian Champions Trophy Chennai 2023 between India & Malaysia at 2030 hrs today. #HockeyIndia #IndiaKaGame #HACT2023,” tweeted Hockey India.
India played their fifth final in seven appearances in the tournament, having won against Pakistan on two occasions in 2011 and 2016, sharing the trophy with their arch-rival in 2018. They are the joint most successful team in the tournament along with Pakistan, which has also clinched three titles.
