Since 2018, the year Odisha hosted the hockey World Cup in Bhubaneswar, Patnaik’s state has taken the role of hockey’s official sponsor. The government he runs is cash-strapped, but the chief minister found a way. He has tapped into the Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) – a state undertaking with regular cash inflows – to fund the beleaguered game. The money ploughed into the teams isn’t spectacularly huge, but substantial. The 20 crore-odd rupees given every year to the teams, as the Olympic results show, is doing the talking now. The men’s hockey team defeated Great Britain to enter the semi-finals after a gap of 41 years. The women’s team followed suit, besting the more fancied Australia to enter the semis for the first time ever.