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Rourkela: Ahead of the much-awaited Men’s Hockey World Cup 2023, preparations have started in full swing at Rourkela, one of the venues to host the mega event.
After successful hosting of the 2018 edition of the mega event in Bhubaneswar, the next edition has been split between Kalinga Stadium in the Capital City and Biju Patnaik Hockey Stadium in the Steel City from January 13-29, 2023. While the State Capital would be the principal venue, Rourkela, for the first time, has been chosen as the second venue.
On Thursday, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) president and sports administrator Narinder Dhruv Batra along with a technical team and other senior officials reached the Steel City to assess the infrastructure and logistic needs of the venue for the high voltage event. Hockey India (HI) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Elena Norman, Sports and Youth Services Secretary Vishal Dev and IDCO Managing Director Sanjay Singh also joined with them.
Earlier during the day, a separate HI team inspected the Biju Patnaik hockey stadium to take stock of the infrastructural needs, the expansion of which has been delayed for months owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to sources, a high-level team of the State Government comprising Sports Minister Tusharkanti Behera, Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy and 5T Secretary V Karthikeya Pandian is expected to visit the stadium on Friday. They along with the FIH and HI officials are likely to review the facilities at the stadium and other infrastructure in the city.
The Biju Patnaik Hockey Stadium would get a complete facelift ahead of the mega international event. The upgradation plans include astro-turf practice ground, floodlights, changing rooms for players and match officials and extra parking space which will be made on a war footing. The seating capacity of the stadium will also be doubled from its existing 15,000 to 30,000. Moreover, the vacant places will be used for the expansion of the stadium.
The FIH officials had earlier insisted on air connectivity, advanced healthcare facilities, luxurious hotel rooms and beautification of the city as the prerequisites for hosting a grand event like World Cup.
