Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday launched the trophy tour of the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 in Bhubaneswar, handing over the trophy to Hockey India President Dilip Tirkey.
Wishing the trophy tour a grand success, the chief minister said, “I hope the Hockey Men’s World Cup Trophy Tour will build excitement for the World Cup across India. We will be hosting 16 teams and the matches will be played in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela…I am sure it will be a memorable World Cup for the teams and the fans.”
Odisha sports and youth services minister Tusharkanti Behera, secretary general Hockey India Bholanath Singh, state sports secretary R. Vineel Krishna, executive director of Hockey India Srivastava and officials and hockey players were present at the occasion.
The trophy will travel across 13 states and one union territory before returning to Odisha on 25 December.
Over the next 21 days, the trophy will journey across 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 tour across all districts.
The trophy will also visit 17 blocks of Sundargarh district, which has become 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.
The FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela will begin from 13 January.
