Children on cloud nine – thanks to Udhayanidhi Stalin!

Sports Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin took the children of common people in his Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni constituency to see the Asian Men's Hockey Championship Trophy match. After a long gap of 16 years, Chennai is hosting "Asian Men's Hockey Championship Trophy- 2023" in Mayor Radhakrishnan stadium, Egmore.

The participants of the Championship include China, Pakistan, Malaysia, Japan, Korea, and India. An Olympic standard New Synthetic Turf worth 16 crores has been laid out for the purpose of conducting the matches. According to Member Secretary Sports Authority of Tamil Nadu, Meghanatha Reddy, the laid Hockey Blue Turf is a world class advanced one.

On the first day of the Championship games, team India played energetically against team China and won the game. Spectators in the stadium rejoiced India's win with 7-2 goals on the scoreboard. Karthick, Indian player from Tamil Nadu said, "I feel happy to play in my home state and in front of my family. The victory in the first game has given us confidence and vitality to perform well in the upcoming games. These games will help us prepare better for the Olympics next year."

Muhammad Saqlain, Pakistan head coach shared his views about Indian games and Tamil Nadu. "I was the captain of my team during the 2007 games and now we are waiting to play against the Indian team. Tamil Nadu sports fans are treating us with respect which makes us feel at home (Pakistan)", said Muhammad Saqlain.

Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin has taken students from his constituency to see the India-Japan hockey match in the stadium. Udhayanidhi Stalin has tweeted this information in his twitter page saying that students from Ayodhya nagar, Royapettah, Chintadripet who wished to see the match in the stadium were taken to see India-Japan match. He also wished the students to achieve their dreams of becoming champion players in the future.

One of the students who saw the match in the stadium said, "I have never seen a hockey match before and it gives me immense joy to see the hockey match for the first time in my life." Yazhini said, "Since we have never entered a stadium before, it was a proud moment for us when brother Udhayanidhi took us into the stadium to see the match. Stadium looked scintillating with bright lights."

Prajin said, "I am studying in 7th standard and I enjoyed the match to the core." Bhavana said, "Udhayanidhi brother took me and my friends to the stadium and he bought us food and snacks during the match. It was an unbelievable experience for us and I thank Udhayanidhi brother for this experience and entertainment." One of the students said, "Udhayanidhi brother has taken us to Chepauk stadium before to see an IPL match and now he has brought us to see a hockey match. It was a dream come true moment for us when we saw the live match in the stadium."

The generation which stood outside the stadium is now stepping into the stadium for the first time, all because of Udhayanidhi Stalin.