Odisha Hockey World Cup: Outlet denies tickets, fans disappointed

Bhubaneswar: While the Odisha Government is leaving no stone unturned to create buzz for the Hockey Men’s World Cup-2018 scheduled to commence from November 28 at the Kalinga Stadium here and provide sports enthusiasts best possible experience during the mega sporting event, display of apathetic attitude by staff of a ticket outlet in the city has left many fans disappointed as they were reportedly denied tickets.

Several fans trying to fetch tickets at the Reliance Digital store located in Esplanade One shopping mall here, which is among the 20 ticket outlets, were denied the same by the staff of the store saying that they are unable to provide tickets due to “system problem”.

However, sale of tickets at other outlets in the city without any use of system (computer) was clearly evident.

“I failed to get any ticket from the store despite repeated attempts as they (store staff) refused to give me ticket citing ‘system problems’. They also told me to visit the store tomorrow for the purpose. When I asked for an official statement regarding the ‘system problem’, they ignored me completely,” a fan said.

Notably, physical sale of tickets for the Hockey World Cup started at the Box Office of Kalinga Stadium and various outlets in the city today.