Indian Oil co-sponsors Kalinga Lancers hockey team

Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) today joined as the co-sponsor of Kalinga Lancers team of Hockey India League for the 2016 season.
On behalf of IOCL, Ramjee Ram, Executive Director (In-Charge) of Paradip Refinery project, handed over a co-sponsorship cheque worth Rs 1 core to Sanjeev Chopra, CMD, IDCO and chairman, Odisha Sports Development Promotion Company, which manages the Kalinga Lancers team.
IOCL has been a co-sponsor of Kalinga Lancers team in the previous two seasons of Hockey India League in 2014 and 2015.
The oil major has the distinction of having 13 Arjuna awardees amongst its squad of sports stars.

Indian Oil's P Gopichand has been conferred with the Arjuna Award in 1999 and other prestigious awards like Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna (2001), Padma Shri (2005), Dronacharya Award (2009) and Padma Bhushan( 2014), an official release said.
"IOCL has been championing the cause of sports development for over three decades now. In line with the sports policy it adopted in 1985, the Corporation has over the years, recruited many promising sportspersons, who have gone on to reach their peak in their chosen disciplines," it said.
Since 2006, Indian Oil has also been conferring sports scholarships to promising young sportspersons representing the state in indoor and outdoor games.

The scheme, which started in 2006 with 55 scholarships in seven games/sports, has now been augmented to offer 150 scholarships for 19 games/ sports to upcoming junior players between 14-19 years of age, the release added.