<p>The Indian football team has made the decision to contribute a portion of the monetary prize it was given by the government of Odisha for winning the Intercontinental Cup to “relief and rehabilitation” of families impacted by the state’s most recent rail catastrophe.</p>
<p>In the championship game on Sunday, hosts India defeated Lebanon 2-0 to win the trophy for the second time in three games.<img decoding=”async” loading=”lazy” class=”alignnone wp-image-30460″ src=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/www.theindiaprint.com-the-winning-indian-football-team-gives-the-relatives-of-the-balasore-railway-tragedy-victims-rs-20-lakh-11zon-cropped-2023-06-19t172159.026-11zon-750×425.png” alt=”” width=”1352″ height=”766″ srcset=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/www.theindiaprint.com-the-winning-indian-football-team-gives-the-relatives-of-the-balasore-railway-tragedy-victims-rs-20-lakh-11zon-cropped-2023-06-19t172159.026-11zon-750×425.png 750w, https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/www.theindiaprint.com-the-winning-indian-football-team-gives-the-relatives-of-the-balasore-railway-tragedy-victims-rs-20-lakh-11zon-cropped-2023-06-19t172159.026-11zon-1024×581.png 1024w, https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/www.theindiaprint.com-the-winning-indian-football-team-gives-the-relatives-of-the-balasore-railway-tragedy-victims-rs-20-lakh-11zon-cropped-2023-06-19t172159.026-11zon-768×435.png 768w, https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/www.theindiaprint.com-the-winning-indian-football-team-gives-the-relatives-of-the-balasore-railway-tragedy-victims-rs-20-lakh-11zon-cropped-2023-06-19t172159.026-11zon-390×220.png 390w, https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/www.theindiaprint.com-the-winning-indian-football-team-gives-the-relatives-of-the-balasore-railway-tragedy-victims-rs-20-lakh-11zon-cropped-2023-06-19t172159.026-11zon.png 1173w” sizes=”(max-width: 1352px) 100vw, 1352px” /></p>
<p>Igor Stimac’s wards have “collectively” chosen to contribute Rs 20 lakh from the financial prize of Rs 1 crore that Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced for the team after the victory.</p>
<p>“We appreciate the government of Odisha’s kindness in providing the winning team with a financial incentive. The Indian football team tweeted, “We’ve chosen to contribute Rs. 20 lakh of that money towards relief and reconstruction work for families impacted by the sad train disaster in the state earlier this month. This was an immediate and collaborative decision by the dressing room.</p>
<p>“Nothing can make up for the loss that people have experienced, but we hope that this helps families cope and get through these extremely trying times in some small way.”</p>
<p>The Yeshwantpur-Howrah Superfast Express, the Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express, and a cargo train were all involved in the tragedy, which resulted in the deaths of close to 300 people and over 1,000 injuries.</p>
<p>India defeated Lebanon at the Kaling Stadium on Sunday thanks to Lallianzuala Chhangte’s goal and captain Sunil Chhetri’s 87th international goal.</p>