Bhubaneswar: Hockey India Thursday said it will donate all the profits from sale of match tickets of the upcoming FIH Men’s Series Finals to the Odisha government in a bid to help the state recover from the damage caused by Cylcone Fani.
The money collected from the sale of match tickets will be donated to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund Odisha, a statement from HI said.
“We have been immensely saddened to see the destruction and loss caused by Cyclone Fani, and to reciprocate the love and support showed by Odisha to the sport of hockey, we are going to give all the proceeds from the match ticket sales to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund, Odisha,” HI President, Mohd Mushtaque Ahmad said.
“Our aim is to help in rebuilding the state of Odisha through whatever contributions that we can make,” he added.
Severe cyclonic storm ‘Fani’ battered Odisha earlier this month, affecting approximately 1.5 crore people in 159 blocks of 14 districts and caused massive damage and destruction across the state.
Meanwhile, 150 volunteers including liaison officers, ball patrols, media coordinators, competitions assistants, etc have signed up to help in the conduct of a successful FIH Men’s Series Finals to be held here from June 6 to 15.
Thanking the volunteers from Odisha for their continued contribution in conducting world-class hockey events here, HI President, Mushtaque Ahmad, said, “Hockey India is extremely grateful to the people of Odisha for supporting the sport of hockey in such a difficult moment as well.”
“It is fantastic to see the response we have received from the local people, and I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the Odisha State Government for doing exceptional and prompt work in readying the Kalinga Hockey Stadium for the upcoming FIH Men’s Series Finals,” he added.
Besides India, Poland, Russia, Uzbekistan, South Africa, Asian Games gold medallist Japan, United States and Mexico are the other participating nations in the event.
PTI