Insight Bureau:   Secretary to CM (5T) V. Karthikeyan Pandian interacted with the Hockey Olympians from Odisha Deep Grace Ekka, Namita Toppo, Birendra Lakra and Amit Rohidas and congratulated them on their outstanding performance at the Tokyo Olympics.

VK Pandian an athlete during his school days and a Sports hostel graduate, has been the force behind the initiatives to execute the vision of Odisha Chief Minsiter Naveen Patnaik to develop Odisha into a sports hub.

Kalinga Stadium Sports complex in Bhubaneswar has become a global destination for hockey events and Odisha is now known as the Hockey Hub of India due to his hard work.

Earlier, he had been conferred with the International Hockey Federation (FIH) Presidents Award for his outstanding contribution for the promotion of Hockey in Odisha.