Bhubaneswar: International Hockey (FIH) Federation president Narinder Batra has stated that the Kalinga Stadium in the city, which is going the upcoming men’s hockey World Cup starting from November 28 can be one of the top five stadiums in the world.
“I thank everyone (local authorities) for their support and am fully confident that this edition of hockey World Cup will be a landmark event. I believe that Odisha will soon be called the sports capital of the country,” Batra said in the governing body meeting of the men’s hockey World Cup here at the Secretariat, Friday.
The meeting which was chaired by sports minister Chandra Sarathi Behera and briefed by commissioner-cum-secretary, Sports and Youth Services Department, government of Odisha, Vishal Dev discussed about all the arrangements regarding the mega event. Hockey India (HI) CEO Elena Norman and other officials were also present at the meeting.
Apart from the grand opening ceremony a day prior to the opening game, the authorities have also decided to extend the World Cup celebrations to Barabati Stadium in Cuttack where singing maestro AR Rahman will be performing.
Regarding the opening ceremony, the organisers have been decided that the all the tickets will be put on sale online at www.ticketgenie.in. and the public will be notified with sufficient time before the sale starts.
The city will also witness a festival during the event which include dance and music, art trail, storytelling festival, food festival and other such entertaining activities which will be available for people to indulge in, as discussed at length during the meeting.