Odisha will host the Men’s Hockey World Cup for the second time in 2023. The first World Cup was hosted in the year 2018 after which the Covid pandemic broke out. Odisha has been promoting the national sport of the country for many years. It has produced some of the legendary players like Anupa Barla, Binita Toppo, Birendra Lakra, Dilip Tirkey, etc.
Thus 2023 will see teams from 16 countries play matches at two stadia in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela for the 2023 Men’s FIH Hockey. To take the enthusiasm rocking in every household, the district administration of Subarnapur the event is being celebrated as a festival.
THE CAMPAIGN
To promote the event of Hockey World Cup in Subarnapur, a campaign named ‘Subarnapur Hela Hockeypur’ has been launched by the district administration. This simply means turning Subarnapur into Hockeypur or a district which is filled with people enthusiastic about the sport.
District Collector Subarnapur, Aboli Sunil Naravane, IAS, told Indian Masterminds, “With this movement we hope to promote the spirit of Hockey amongst youth of the district.”
Assistant Collector and District Sports Officer of Subarnapur, Avilash Purohit told Indian Masterminds, “Every district in the state has been given various guidelines by the state government, however we want to take this enthusiasm a level up by involving each and every household of the district in this event.”
Under this campaign a chariot specially designed for the World Cup will be moving to all the six blocks, comprising of 109 gram panchayats, of the district.
STARTING FROM HOCKEY VILLAGE OF SUBARNAPUR
The hockey chariot was flagged off from Dakkhinapali village of Ullunda block which is also known as the Hockey hub of the district. The officer said that Dakkhinpali is a tribal village and people play good Hockey there and some of the good players have also emerged from this village. The chariot launched on 23 December roamed around five gram panchayats namely Sindhol, Panchmahala, Jaloe, Kalapathar, and Mahada.
Mr Avilash said, “It was overwhelming to see more than 2,000 people attending the inauguration ceremony. We have planned that according to the gram panchayat where the chariot will reach, we will organise local cultural practices followed by them like tribal dance, games etc. Hence after the inauguration ceremony a hockey match was organised in Dakkhinpali.”
“After the chariot visits one GP, the Sarpanch will hand over the hockey stick to another and so on till all 109 GPs are covered. This is being done as a symbol of continuity and solidarity,” said the District Collector.
On the second day, the chariot was greeted by the people of Chhokormaal, Rengali, Mallikmunda, and Hordokhol gram panchayat of Subarnapur. The chariot will continue visiting more blocks until the excitement reaches every household of the district.
Apart from this, the district administration is also promoting the sport by supporting the local players with adequate kits to play and inviting famous Hockey players to motivate them towards the sport.
