FIH Delegation Inspects 2023 World Cup Venue in Odisha

By TAZEEN QURESHY

A delegation of officials from the FIH, visited Steel City Rourkela on Friday to inspect the infrastructure facilities in the city. Rourkela is one of the two venues which will be hosting the Men’s Hockey World Cup in 2023.

FIH President Narinder Dhruv Batra, Hockey India President Gyanendro Ningombam and several other technical officials visited the Biju Patnaik Hockey Stadium (BPHS) in Rourkela and took stock of the preparations for the World Cup. Officials from the Odisha administration including Sports Minister Tusharkanti Behera, State Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy and Sports Secretary Vishal Dev were also present.

“The FIH World Cup is the flagship event of hockey’s world governing body. Therefore, it is essential that all operational matters are conducted in a state-of-the-art way. I’m really pleased with the commitment of the public authorities of Rourkela and I’m convinced it will be a great venue for the FIH Odisha Men’s Hockey World Cup India 2023,” said Dr. Narinde Dhruv Batra.

Notably, the work around laying the new astro-turf at BPHS had been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Odisha Government left no stone unturned to make 2018 Men’s Hockey World Cup a truly international experience and in 2023 too it will excel in its execution and all stakeholders are collectively working towards it,” said Odisha Sports Minister Tusharkanti Behera.

A team of officials had earlier visited Kalinga Stadium, the other venue of the World Cup.

India will be the first country in the world to host two consecutive hockey World Cups. The 2018 edition of the World Cup was held at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.

Besides renovating the hockey stadium, the Odisha Government has also elaborately planned on re-development of Rourkela. The multi-purpose Birsa Munda Stadium will be redeveloped and a multi-level car parking will be introduced.

The Rourkela Smart City Limited (RSCL) has also commenced the first stage of the smart road project and the second will begin soon.

Plans are also in the offing to restore commercial flights from the Steel City.

Rourkela comes under Sundargarh district of Odisha, which is considered the nursery of hockey in Eastern India. Several top players including former captain Dilip Tirkey and defender Birendra Lakra hail from Sundargarh district.