Odisha govt holds high-level meeting on FIH Men's Hockey World Cup 2023

Top officials of the Odisha government held a meeting to ensure that the upcoming Men's Hockey World Cup 2023 to be hosted by the state is a grand success.

Odisha is moving into top gear to set global benchmarks for the upcoming International Hockey Federation (FIH) Men's Hockey World Cup tournament in 2023. The state is gearing up to host the Men's Hockey World Cup in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela from January 13 to 29 next year.

The state is hosting the event for the second time in a row after its massive success in the Hockey Men's World Cup of 2018. The Asian Athletics Championship in 2017 was also a resounding success.

In a few months from now, the state will once again host the Hockey Men's World Cup in 2023. To ensure that the marquee event is even bigger and better than its previous edition, a meeting at the level of CMO involving top government officials, including Chief Secretary Suresh Mahapatra, Private Secretary to Chief Minister (5T) VK Pandian, Principal Secretaries and heads of different departments, was held at Lok Seva Bhawan today. Others from Cuttack and Rourkela administrations joined in through video conferencing.

Chief Secretary Suresh Mahapatra emphasised the challenges of the event as it will be held in two cities at the same time. But, he added, "We are confident of ensuring a smooth, successful and memorable world cup for players, officials, fans and spectators. We are eagerly looking forward to welcoming the top teams of the world. There are certain areas that need special attention and we will be reviewing the development periodically."

Different government departments have worked seamlessly and efficiently and executed an exceptional event in 2018 that made a global impact on our image, and the same has been asked of them for this edition. In fact, we are hoping to better the last by adding new aspects to draw in more crowd, engage fans and also positively impress the visiting tourists, he added.

Private Secretary to Chief Minister (5T), VK Pandiyan, sharing his views, said that, "It is a matter of great pride that Odisha has got the opportunity to host the consecutive edition of the Men's Hockey World Cup, that too at two different venues. This has never happened before and we should be extremely proud of this."

Odisha has set a benchmark in hosting international events. He added that the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has directed the officials to use this World Cup as an opportunity to showcase not only Odisha's capability as a remarkable host but also the art, culture and heritage of the state.

He encouraged all department heads to come together and ensure players and fans have a memorable experience and return as brand ambassadors.

Sports Secretary, Odisha, R Vineel Krishna, presented the road map ahead. He emphasised that the construction of the infrastructure and facilities in co-host city, Rourkela, is going on in full swing and the development is being monitored closely and will be ready in the coming months. Other aspects related to the upgradation and beautification of Rourkela are also being taken up by the district administration. In Bhubaneswar, the new turfs have been laid at the Kalinga Hockey Stadium a few months back and are match ready.