Bhubaneswar: Heart beat of hundreds of thousands of hockey lovers skipped a bit after Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik declared the Men’s Hockey World Cup open.
The curtain finally fell and the wait for the extravaganza World Cup came to an end as hockey craze at its zenith. Vibrant colours, fireworks and filled the atmosphere of the iconic Kalinga Stadium at the grand opening ceremony. Hosted by Gaurav Kapur, the crowd doubled the zeal with cheers and applauses.
After the chief Minister Naveen Patnaik declared Odisha Men’s Hockey World Cup 2018 open, the crowd witnessed the Hockey anthem ‘Jai Hind Hind, Jai India’ being played in the background.
The applauses doubled after the King of Romance and Bollywood Badshah Shah Rukh Khan made a grand entry. In his iconic style, the Zero star greeted the people of Odisha in Odia saying, “Apana Mananku Bahut Bahut Dhanyabad, Mate Eithi Asibaku Sujog Deithibaru.”
SRK recalled his childhood days and his connection with Hockey. He added that he was indeed feeling proud and filled with love for Odisha. He thanked the CM and the people of Odisha for all the love.
SRK further said he feels proud because his father was a hockey player. And he said he learnt a lot from his father because of which he also captained a hockey team when he was 18.
“Hockey is India’s Sport and we can say Hockey is ours,” said SRK. No doubt Shah Rukh’s Heart Beats for Hockey as he even had played a coach in Bollywood movie ‘Chak De India’.
In a moment of polite gesture, SRK called the CM and hugged him on the stage. He also thanked the CM for inviting him for the extravaganza event and ended his speech with Chak De India.
Next came, the Dhak Dhak girl who is stole the heart of the spectators with an ‘Earth-themed’ performance, a fusion performance showcasing eastern and western classical dances which was accompanied by around 800 students from various schools and colleges.
PNN