Odisha CM unveils Hockey Men’s World Cup Trophy amid loud cheer

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today unveiled the Hockey Men’s World Cup Trophy at a glittering event held in the Kalinga Stadium in Odisha capital amidst loud cheers of the spectators.

The World Cup will be held between November 28 and December 16.

Besides, the State government has signed an agreement with top business groups to set up a high performance sports centre to groom the budding sportspersons in the State.

At a special event, ‘Sports in Odisha’ at the Kalinga Stadium, State’s Sports and Youth Services Department signed Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) with seven leading industrialists High Performance Centre to provide world-class training to promising sports talents.

“The signing of this MoU has created a long-lasting partnership which will result in producing sportspersons of world standards. But this partnership is more than just giving grants and funds, it will focus on extending the outreach of every sport in India,” the CM said after MoUs were signed.

The deal will help in developing the necessary infrastructure and support services needed by a budding sportsperson to realize their potential.

The following sports were sponsored by the following industries, which have their own Foundation for Youth Sports: Athletics by Reliance Industries Group; Football and Swimming by JSW Group; Badminton by Dalmia Bharat Group; Weightlifting by Ahluwalia Group; Shooting by Aditya Birla Group; and Hockey by Tata Group.

“We are partnering with the State Government to set up the Reliance Foundation – Odisha High Performance Athletics Centre. This Centre will train local talent under world renowned experts to develop them into Olympic Medal winners of tomorrow,” said Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani announcing his company’s consistent efforts to promote sports talents across India.

Among others who were present at the event are International Hockey Federation Dr Narendra Batra, former Indian cricketer Anil Kumble, Indian shooter Gagan Narang, former Indian badminton player and renowned coach Pullela Gopichand Dalmia Bharat Group CMD Puneet Dalmia and Chairman JSW Sajjan Jindal.