Ahead of the FIH Hockey Men’s World Cup opening ceremony on Wednesday, eminent sand artist Padma Shri Sudarsan Pattnaik has sculptured world’s largest hockey stick on the banks of Mahanadi river here. Pattnaik has created a 105-ft long hockey stick, using 5,000 hockey balls. The sand artist used over five tonne of sand for the sand art which also showcases the newly built Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela.
Having taken two days to complete the art installation, which will be on display for the public on Wednesday, Pattnaik said, “There is a festive atmosphere in every village you travel to in Odisha because of the World Cup. It is a very special event for the people of Odisha and there are celebrations everywhere. To welcome everyone to this beautiful state, we wanted to create something unique this time, that’s why we thought of using hockey balls and create this installation.” “During the previous World Cup, we had installed sand art at the Kalinga Stadium and the art work depicted the major monuments of Odisha like Konark.