Bhubaneswar: Much awaited Trophy Tour of the 2023 Men’s FIH Hockey World Cup was kick-started on Monday.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik handed over the trophy to Hockey India President Dilip Tirkey.
Shri Patnaik wished the Trophy Tour a grand success and said it will be a memorable World Cup for the teams and the fans.
“I hope the Hockey Men’s World Cup Trophy Tour will build excitement for the world cup across India. We will be hosting 16 teams and the matches will be played in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela,” he said.
Minister Sports & Youth Services Tusharkanti Behera and Secretary General of Hockey India Bholanath Singh were among those present at the program.
Secretary Sports and Youth Services R Vineel Krishna coordinating the entire tour across the nation and a Gigantic Global Event.
The International Tournament will start on January 13 and will continue till January 29.
Over the next 21 days, the trophy will travel to 13 states and a UT, including West Bengal, Assam, Delhi, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, before returning to Odisha on December 25.
Once back in Odisha, the Trophy Tour will be conducted in all the districts of the state.
The Trophy will also be taken to 17 blocks of Sundergarh district, termed the cradle of hockey, officials said.
The Trophy will be returning to Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar where the finals will be played on January 29.
