Odisha Chief Minister (CM) Naveen Patnaik has finally unveiled the official logo for the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 on Thursday at the Kalinga Stadium.

The prestigious hockey tournament will be played from January 13 to 29, 2023.

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After the successful completion of the tournament four years ago in 2018, Hockey India and Odisha will be more than prepared to host the World Cup once again.

“It’s an honour and delight for me to unveil the logo of the FIH Hockey Men’s World Cup for the second consecutive time,” Naveen Patnaik expressed his views after unveiling the logo.

The 15th edition of the Men’s Hockey World cup will be played in two host cities – Bhubaneshwar and Rourkela, where the fans would get to witness the matches in a brand new 20,000 capacity stadium which is being built for the tournament. This stadium will be the country’s largest hockey stadium till date.

“We are thrilled that there will be two venues this time- Bhubaneswar and Rourkela. The 2018 FIH Men’s World Cup gave us all memories that we still cherish to this day and the 2023 FIH Hockey Men’s World Cup will be even more exciting and unforgettable. Odisha looks forward to welcoming global hockey fans and top teams from across the world to participate in the prestigious tournament,” the Chief Minister added.

International Hockey Federation (FIH) president Narinder Dhruv Batra also expressed his views on the occasion and said, “The reveal of the logo is one of the important milestones on the road to the 2023 FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup, Bhubaneswar – Rourkela. A wonderful show awaits athletes and fans in January next year as the best teams of the world will be in action in the state-of-the-art Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar and the magnificent, brand-new Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium – the country’s biggest hockey arena – in Rourkela.”

The unveiling of the official logo was also witnessed by the Sports Minister of Odisha Tusharkanti Behera, Gyanendro Ningombam, who is the President of Hockey India and Padma Shri Dr Dilip Tirkey, Chairman, Odisha Hockey Promotion Council as well. Both the Indian and German hockey teams who were already posted in Bhubaneshwar for their FIH Pro Hockey League fixtures also posed for a group photograph on the occasion.

(Inputs from IANS)