Tomorrow, Gabrielle will be visiting the remaining facilities to complete her visit, to check the preparedness to host the International teams. "I am delighted with the progress of work here at the Kalinga Stadium and I am quite confident the venue will be ready well within the stipulated time,’’ Ms van Zwieten said.

``The keenness of the Odisha Govt and Hockey India to deliver to perfection and leave no stone unturned in their preparations to host the biggest hockey event is worth a mention and I am confident the hockey fraternity will witness a spectacular event starting this November," she added.

The infrastructural work at the iconic Kalinga Stadium includes the up-gradation of seating capacity to 15,000. The Stadium will also get two brand new pitches. The flood lights at both main pitch and the practice pitch too have been upgraded while the entire main stadium is being given a face-lift with wider roads, new gates, permanent CCTV cameras for safety point of view.

Making a statement on behalf of Hockey India, its CEO Elena Norman said: ``Bhubaneswar is one of the best venues for hockey in the country today. It is not just the passion the people of Odisha have for the sport that makes us want to bring big international events here but it`s also the pro-activeness of the Odisha Govt in terms of providing world-class facilities to ensure visiting teams, officials, spectators from across the globe get the best experience. From Hockey India, we have made regular visits to Bhubaneswar and I am happy to note that the infrastructural work is on schedule."

Throwing light on the progress of preparation work, State Sports Secretary Vishal Dev said: "We are all quite happy and satisfied with the ongoing preparations for the Odisha Hockey Men`s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018. In terms of infrastructure, apart from the new turf being laid at the hockey ground, we have upgraded the flood lights of both the practice and main pitch. We are further giving the entire stadium a face lift by widening the roads, installing a new gate and permanent CCTV cameras from safety point of view.

``Our aim is to permeate the image of Odisha globally through the Hockey Men`s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018. All the state departments are working together to expedite the same. We also have a number of campaigns lined up which begins from next month to create a buzz about the world cup nationwide," he added.

Hockey Men’s World Cup, featuring 16 top teams, will witness a total of 36 matches. The opening match of the tournament will see World No 3 Belgium take on World No 11 Canada on November 28, while host nation India will open their campaign on the same day against South Africa.

The 16 teams will play three matches each during the league stage over the span of 12 days before four cross-over matches take place on December 10 and 11. The knockout matches will take place from Dec 12 to 16 as the teams will look to become the champions of the prestigious quadrennial event which was won by Australia in 2014.

The general tickets for the event are already on sale and are reasonably priced at Rs 200 (East Stand), Rs 100 (North Stand) and Rs 100 (South Stand) for the Pool and Crossover matches while tickets for the knockout matches are priced at Rs 250 (East Stand), Rs 150 (North Stand) and Rs 150 (South Stand).  All general tickets for are now available online at http://in.ticketgenie.in/buytickets/hockey-world-cup-2018
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TOP: FIH Events Director Gabrielle van Zwieten inspects Kalinga Stadium, accompanied by Hockey India officials on June 25, 2018.
RIGHT: FIH Events Director Gabrielle van Zwieten (Left) in a meeting with Hockey India Elena Norman and Odisha Sports Secretary Vishal Dev in Bhubaneswar on June 25, 2018.