Women's Asian Champions Trophy: Nitish unveils logo, mascot

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday unveiled the logo and mascot for the Women's Asian Champions Trophy-2024, which will be hosted in Rajgir from November 11-20.

The mascot, named 'Gudiya', is inspired by the state bird of Bihar, Sparrow.

The Women's Asian Champions Trophy-2024 is a joint venture of Hockey India and the Bihar government and will be held at the newly developed Rajgir Hockey Stadium.

The state cabinet recently sanctioned Rs 10 crore to Hockey India for the purpose.

Six countries, including hosts India, China, Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan, will vie for top honours in the competition.

The unveiling was held at the Bihar CM's residence and among those present on the occasion were Bihar Sports Minister Surendra Mehta, Indian women's hockey team captain Selema Tete, vice-captain Navneet Kaur, Director General of Bihar State Sports Authority Ravindran Shankaran and secretary general of Hockey India Bholanath Singh.

The hockey stick in Gudiya's hand is the symbol of the hockey competition and the goalkeeper's glove in the hand and the defensive posture reflect the strategic qualities of alertness, a statement issued by the chief minister's office in Patna read.

"The design of the logo of this competition is a symbol of the rich cultural heritage and all-round progress of glorious Bihar.

"The Bodhi tree and hockey stick have been kept in the logo. The Bodhi tree is a symbol of knowledge, power, harmony, tolerance and development which connects people with the rich spiritual and cultural history of Bihar. Hockey stick is the symbol of India's national sport hockey," the statement read.

The Chief Minister said, "It's a matter of great happiness that the Women's Asian Champions Trophy, 2024 is being organised at Rajgir. A grand sports stadium has been built in Rajgir. I wish the players of the Indian women's hockey team all the best and welcome the players coming from other countries."

He directed the officials to provide the best possible facilities to the people coming from outside.

"All the guests should be well-hosted so that they have a good experience in Bihar," the CM said.