Odisha Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Empowerment Ranendra Pratap Swain on Friday met Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to officially invite the Kerala CM to the Men's Hockey World Cup which will be held in Odisha next month.
The meeting was held in the Chief Minister's Chamber at the Secretariat.
The Odisha minister also presented the Indian Men's Hockey team's jersey to the Chief Minister.
In light of the preparations for the Hockey World Cup 2023, the Odisha cabinet headed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has approved the revised cost for the construction of sports infrastructure facilities in Kalinga Stadium at Bhubaneswar and the construction of the new International Hockey Stadium at Rourkela.
Notably, Odisha is the host of the FIH Men's Hockey World Cup 2023 with venues at Bhubaneswar and Rourkela.
The Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar is being upgraded with various facilities like India's first indoor athletic stadium, indoor aquatic centre, centre tennis court, Hockey HPC building, Accommodation facilities etc.
The project was approved in May 2021 by the state Cabinet with a total budget of Rs 432.454 crores including all taxes and IDCO charges.
The Hockey Men's World Cup 2023 will take place at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar and at the Bisra Munda Stadium in Rourkela from January 13 to 29, 2023.
While the iconic Kalinga Hockey Stadium in Bhubaneswar hosted the previous edition of the World Cup which was lauded world-over for its exceptional infrastructure and Hockey India's immaculate execution of the event as hosts, this time the coveted event will also be held in the heart of Odisha's hockey belt - Rourkela, a region famous for its hockey prowess having produced numerous international hockey players.
This is the second consecutive World Cup to be held in India - and the fourth overall.
( With inputs from ANI )
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