Odisha: Kalinga Stadium bears Rs 11 crore loss due to Cyclone FANI

Bhubaneswar: Kalinga Stadium, which hosted the Men’s Hockey World Cup last year, has incurred a loss of nearly about Rs 11 crore in Cyclone FANI.

“Roughly about Rs 11 crore loss has been estimated at Kalinga Stadium due to the dangerous cyclone,” said State Sports Secretary Vishal Dev.

The lift and the roof of the Athletic stadium need to be replaced as those have been completely damaged. The damage was also noticed in the turf and ground. The glasses of rooms were also scattered, he said.

“The restoration work needs to be done on a war footing level in view of the FIH Men’s Series Final scheduled from June 6 at Kalinga Stadium,” the official said.

When asked about the preparation for the upcoming hockey event, he said, “We have 15 days in hand. We will try to complete whatever required for the tournament.”

He said that the Central team had visited the Athletic stadium to estimate damage.

“We will also inform them about other damage and will submit the damage assessment report to the Special Relief Commissioner,” he added.

Worth mentioning, the FIH Men’s Series Final is crucial for the 2020 Olympic Qualifying Pathway. Eight teams such as — India, Asian Games Gold Medallist Japan, Mexico, USA, Poland, South Africa, Russia and Uzbekistan — will have clash in the 10-day event between June 6 and 15 at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.