The Men’s Hockey World Cup 2023 began on Wednesday night with a grand opening ceremony at Cuttack’s gorgeous Barabati Stadium, which was attended by thousands of hockey fans from all across the nation and overseas.
Anurag Thakur, the Union Sports Minister, Naveen Patnaik, the Chief Minister of Odisha, Tayyab Ikram, and Dilip Tirkey, the chairman of Hockey India, all attended the grand ceremony to welcome the members of the 16 competing teams.
Ikram praised Odisha for hosting the major event twice in a row, the most recent time being in 2018, and referred to it as the “Land of Hockey” in his speech.
According to Thakur, the passion of the people of India and the state demonstrated their love for the game. He complimented the Odisha government for successfully holding the event in opulence.
He declared that the Center would always offer assistance to states holding such athletic events.
Odisha has a long history of being known for its hospitality, according to Patnaik, who wished that each guest would have pleasant memories of their time spent there.
He expressed his gratitude to the Union government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for helping Odisha host the Men’s Hockey World Cup twice in a row.
The colourful cultural programmes that preceded and followed the hour-long opening ceremony captivated the large crowd.
Aruna Mohanty, a renowned dance teacher, choreographed a spectacular tribal dance that was a combination of at least six regional dance styles to open the event.
Sniti Mishra, Rituraj Mohanty, Lisa Mishra, and a plethora of other performances captivated the crowd, including the actor-couple Sabyasachi Mishra and Archita Sahu.
The opening ceremony was broadcast on enormous screens in sixteen fan parks that were set up at significant locations throughout the city, where thousands of hockey fans and enthusiasts watched it.
The Hockey World Cup theme song was performed by hundreds of Bollywood and regional singers, and it was written by music director Pritam, who also appeared on stage with a few other singers.
From January 13 to January 29, the games will take place at Birsa Mundra Hockey Stadium in Rourkela and Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.
Rourkela will host 20 matches, while Bhubaneswar will host 24, including the championship game.
In preparation for the event, the state government constructed a new hockey stadium in Rourkela.
The international event is being held in Odisha for the second time in a row after taking place in Bhubaneswar in 2018.
Prasanta Patnaik 
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