Team Odisha is ready to take on New South Wales for two exhibition hockey matches as a part of promotional campaign for the upcoming Men’s Hockey World Cup.
While the first match will be played on November 1 at Kalinga Stadium, the second match will be played on November 4 in Rourkela.
Sports department officials said that the New South Wales team would arrive in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday.
“Both the matches are likely to create the buzz among the fans before the World Cup. Besides we will also get an opportunity to test the newly laid synthetic turf at Kalinga Stadium,” said a department official.
Hundreds of sports enthusiasts thronged the stadium on Tuesday to get passes for the first match with New South Wales. Sports department officials said that fans would not need to pay for the passes but the system had been introduced to ensure that the stadium was not overcrowded.
National player Amit Rohidas will lead the Odisha team, which also features Dipsan Tirkey, Shilanand Lakra, Birendra Lakra, Nilam Sanjeep Xess and youngsters Roshan Minz and Teofil Kujur. Former Indian captain Dilip Tirkey said that the exhibition match would boost the confidence of Odisha player.
“The match will be help them get exposure and the visiting team will also play in Rourkela which had produced a number of international players. Both the matches will surely attract people to the World Cup,” said Tirkey.
On Monday, steel giant Tata Steel was announced as the official partner of the 14th edition of the World Cup to be hosted by India for the third time.
India had earlier hosted the tournament in 1982 in Mumbai and in 2010 in New Delhi. As many as 36 matches will be held in the tournament which will start on November 28 while the final match will be played on December 16.
The opening ceremony of the tournament will be held on November 27 in which Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan will perform.