Failing to get HWC tickets, fans vandalise Kalinga Stadium counter

Bhubaneswar: Tension erupted at Kalinga Stadium, the venue of the upcoming Men’s Hockey World Cup here today as some fans resorted to vandalism after failing to get tickets for the opening ceremony of the mega sporting event scheduled to begin from November 28.

As per the announcement made earlier about the availability of the inaugural ceremony tickets on November 15, fans began to queue up before the counter no-9 near the stadium since yesterday night. However, the authorities today informed that the tickets are not available.

Irate over the decision, some fans vandalised posters and the counter set up near the stadium.

To disperse the crowd and control the situation, police resorted to mild lathicharge in front of the stadium.

“Hundreds of fans have been waiting to get tickets since last night because we recieved information that tickets would be available from today. If tickets were not in stock, then the authorities should have informed about it last night itself. This kind of mismanagement for such a huge event is unwarranted,” said a fan.

Sports and Youth Services secretary Vishal Dev had earlier announced that the tickets for the inaugural ceremony will be sold at counters on November 15.

The offline sale of tickets at counters for the matches had begun on November 5 but much to the disappointment of fans, tickets for the opening match ran out within minutes raising tension among the fans.

While the inauguration ceremony of the much-awaited event will be held on November 27, the opening match will be played the next day.

Shah Rukh Khan, who played the role of a hockey coach in Chak De! India will perform during the opening ceremony along with Oscar winning music composer A.R Rahman.

Host nation India will begin its campaign against World No. 15 South Africa on November 28.