Rare Honour: Odisha To Host Men’s Hockey World Cup Again

Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday announced that Odisha will again host the Hockey Men’s World Cup.

The Chief Minister made this big announcement this evening at a special function to commemorate the success of the 2018 Odisha Men’s Hockey World Cup at Kalinga Stadium here. The 2023 World Cup matches will be played in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela, he said, adding ‘Apana Mane Khusi Toh, Mu Bhi Bahut Khusi’.

Notably, Malaysia, Belgium and India were in the fray to host the next Hockey World Cup. India won the bid to host it again and Hockey India selected Odisha as the venue. It will partner with the Odisha government to host the 2023 Men’s Hockey World Cup.

The Men’s World Cup is slated to be held from January 13 to 29, 2023.

It is for the fourth time that India will host the tournament, after 1982, 2010 and 2018, and Odisha will be the venue for the second time in a row, giving a boost to its ‘Sports Capital of the country’ tag.

Rourkela’s Panposh hostel is the nerve centre of hockey in the country and as a tribute to the contribution of Sundargarh to Indian hockey, the Chief Minister proposed to host this prestigious event in Rourkela.  This will put Rourkela and Sundergarh on the global map of Hockey, and help support the recognition and development of this area, official sources said.

On the occasion, the Chief Minister laid the foundation stone of 17 astro-turf hockey stadiums (Training Centres) in Sundargarh. These will be completed in a year’s time. He also laid the foundation stone of the hockey high performance centre building and launched the grassroots development programme in Sundargarh district by Hockey India.

A documentary and a coffee table book on Hockey World Cup 2018 was also released.  FIH President Dr. Narendra Batra and Sports and Youth Services. Minister Tusarkanti Behera were present.