State awards Lakra after rap from players

BHUBANESWAR: The state government on Thursday gave a Rs 30-lakh cash award to Odia hockey icon Birendra Lakra four days after it faced flak from the Indian hockey squad.
Chief minister Naveen Patnaik handed over two cheques to Lakra — Rs 10 lakh for winning the silver medal at the 20th Commonwealth Games at Glasgow and Rs 20 lakh for bagging the gold medal at the 17th Asian Games held in Incheon — at the state secretariat here, official sources said.
On December 1, sports and youth affairs minister Sudam Marndi had faced an embarrassing situation when he met the Indian hockey team players, who are here for the Champions Trophy, at the Kalinga Stadium.
The players told Marndi that Lakra was yet to receive any award from the government although players from other states had all received cash awards.