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Government of Odisha commemorated the first anniversary of Hockey Mens World Cup 2018 as host by organising a pack of events here at Kalinga Stadium Hockey Complex today. A 15,000-strong crowd, featuring around 10,000 school and college students, roared in excitement when Chief Minsiter Naveen Patnaik announced that Hockey India has given Odisha the honour to host the FIH Hockey Mens World Cup consecutively for the second time.
The unassuming Chief Minister made it a double delight for the state in particular and hockey in general by announcing that steel city Rourkela of Sundargarh district, known as the cradle of the sports in the state, will be one of the two venues of the FIH Hockey Mens World Cup 2023 with the other being Bhubaneswar, which was the sole venue for the previous edition of the World Cup 2018.
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In a bid to contribute towards the growth of the sport in India, CM Patnaik also announced that all 17 blocks of Sundargarh district would be equipped with synthetic hockey pitches. The Hockey Centres will come up in Balisankara, Bargaon, Bisra, Bonai, Gurundia, Hemgir, Koida, Kuarmunda, Kutra, Lahunipada, Lathikata, Lephripada, Nuagaon, Rajgangpur, Subdega, Sundargarh and Tangarpalli.
An ambitious Hockey Grassroots Program by Hockey India too was announced during the glittering event today. Naveen also unveiled the Coffee Table Book, a visual representation of the tournament hosted by Odisha.
The mega announcement by Odisha Chief Minister was made in the presence of FIH President Dr Narinder Dhruv Batra, Hockey India President Mohd Mushtaque Ahmad, FIH CEO Thierry Weil,
Odisha Sports Minister Tusharkanti Behera, Chief Secretary Asit Kumar Tripathy, Development Commission Suresh Chandra Mahapatra, Hockey Promotion Council Chairman of Dilip Tirkey, State Sports & Youth Services Department Commissioner-cum-Secretary Vishal Kumar Dev and Director R Vineel Krishna.
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TOP: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announces the hosting of Mens Hockey World Cup 2023 at a function in Bhubaneswar on 27 November, 2019.
RIGHT: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik lays the foundation stone for hockey training centres and high performance centre on the occasion.
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