Senior representatives of Hockey India met with the organizing committee for the FIH Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela during the ongoing FIH Hockey Pro League 2022–2023 to discuss event preparation.
Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra served as the meeting’s moderator. Along with all departmental HoDs, President Hockey India, Dilip Tirkey, Development Commissioner Pradeep Kumar Jena, DG Police Sunil Kumar Bansal, DG Fire Services Santosh Upadhyay, and DG Fire Services Santosh Upadhyay were present. The CS gave instructions to the departmental HoDs regarding the orderly and incident-free conduct of the grand event.
Connectivity, hospitality, and promoting Odisha as a centre for hockey as well as a place of tradition and culture received special attention. The meeting’s discussions revealed that commercial flights to Rourkela were anticipated to start in December 2022. The World Cup teams will have access to charter planes between its two stadiums. In order to facilitate a seamless experience for players, officials, and fans during the World Cup, special buses will also be on the road.
Mahapatra was instructed to use the major event to encourage kids to play hockey. It was agreed to organize sporting carnivals and competitions at the local school district level.
During the meeting, topics such as technology, security, safety, pollution, beautification, promotion, city festivals, etc. were also discussed.
