Hockey News : Should hockey be our national sport?

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to officially recognise hockey as the national game of India. Patnaik was surprised and shocked to know that what is popularly known as the national game has in fact never been notified as our national game. Indian hockey legend Balbir Singh Senior too backs the Odisha Chief Minister on this as this sport has got India 8 Olympics Gold medals and a World Cup too. However, the sports minister thinks the other way. The statement from an Olympic Silver medalist and a Sports Minister is quite a dampener to not only hockey as a sport but to sports on the whole. As he does not want hockey or any sport to be given a national sport status. When we have a national flag, a national bird, a national animal then why not a national sport?