OdishaPlus Bureau

  • Trophy To Visit All 17 Blocks of Sundargarh District
  • Last Leg of Trophy Tour In Rourkela

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik flagged off the Trophy Tour of the forthcoming FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup tournament by handing over the trophy to Hockey India President Dilip Tirkey at a function in Bhubaneswar on Monday.

This signaled the official launch of the world’s biggest Hockey carnival to be hosted by Odisha from January 13 to 29, 2023.

Wishing the tour a grand success, Chief Minister Patnaik said, “I hope the Hockey Men’s World Cup Trophy Tour will build up excitement for the World Cup across India. We will be hosting 16 teams and the matches will be played in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela.”

He added, “I am sure it will be a memorable World Cup for the teams and the fans.”

The World Cup trophy will travel across 13 states and one Union Territory (UT) before returning to Odisha on 25 December, thus enabling a chance for fans and public to witness and engage with the prestigious trophy before the winning team lifts it.

In the next 21-days, the trophy will traverse West Bengal, Manipur, Assam, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, New Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh.

Once back in Odisha, the Hockey Men’s World Cup Trophy will be taken across districts in the state.

The trophy will visit all 17 blocks of Sundargarh district which is famed for being the ‘Cradle of Indian Hockey’.

The last leg of the tour will be in Rourkela before finally returning to the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar where the finals will be played on 29 January 2023.

Minister for Sports and Youth Services Tusharkanti Behera, Secretary General Hockey India Bholanath Singh, Commissioner-cum-Secretary R Vineel Krishna, Executive Director Hockey India RK Srivastava, officials and hockey players were present on this occasion.

Tags: #HockeyMensWorldCup #HWC2023 #Sundargarh #Bhubaneswar #KalingaStadium #FIHOdishaHockey

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