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Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik, Union Sports minister Anurag Thakur along with officials and players attend the grand opening ceremony
A spectacular opening ceremony with an eclectic mix of international and local flavours marked the opening ceremony of the 15th FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup on January 11.
Union sports minister Anurag Thakur, Odisha Chief minister Naveen Patnaik, president of the International Hockey Federation Tayyab Ikram and chairman of Hockey India Dilip Tirkey, along with officials and players of the 16 participating nations, were present in the spectacular opening ceremony.
Union minister Thakur praised the opening ceremony as “one of the grandest” and congratulated the Odisha government on hosting the event for the second time in a row.
“The government of India has been doing its best to promote sports and games in the country. In the true spirit of cooperative federalism, the states are also doing a great job in this regard,” the Thakur, who is also the Union Information and Broadcasting minister, said at the iconic Barabati Stadium in Cuttack.
Highlighting PM Narendra Modi’s effort to promote sports in the country, Thakur said, “Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who himself is a great sports lover, the government of India extended all support to the Indian hockey team even during the difficult time of the COVID-19 pandemic, as a result of which India won the prestigious bronze medal in the Tokyo Olympics-2022.”
Stating that India has been a seat of hockey for a long time, Thakur also recalled how Indian hockey teams have won gold medals in the Olympics three times under hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand before independence and under another hockey legend, Balbir Singh Sr., after independence.
Welcoming the guests, CM Patnaik said, “Odisha has long been known for its hospitality and we hope every visitor takes back good memories of their stay in the state.”
He also thanked PM Modi and the Union government for supporting Odisha in hosting the Men’s Hockey World Cup twice consecutively.
Applauding Odisha for hosting the prestigious event two consecutive times, FIH president Ikram termed the state as the “Land of Hockey”.
The hour-long opening ceremony began with a mesmerising tribal dance art of the state, which was a fusion of at least six local dance forms. It was choreographed by eminent dance guru Aruna Mohanty.
Odia singers Sniti Mishra, Rituraj Mohanty, Lisa Mishra and a host of other performers, including actor-couple Sabyasachi Mishra and Archita Sahu enthralled the audience.
Hundreds of singers from Bollywood and local artists sang the Hockey World Cup theme song, which was composed by music director Pritam. The acclaimed music director also performed on stage along with others.
The action will start on January 13 – with the final slated on January 29. The matches will be held at Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela and Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.
Rourkela, where the government built a new hockey stadium for the event, will host 20 matches. The state capital, Bhubaneshwar, is slated to host 24 matches, including the final.
