Catch them young. That seems to be the motto of the Odisha government which is trying to inculcate the spirit of hockey among youngsters by ensuring that they watch the ongoing FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup matches in large numbers.

This is an opportunity to create in them a love for the game and also to groom budding hockey players and the Odisha government is in no mood to miss it.

School students are being taken to stadiums both in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela to witness hockey matches in large numbers.

Besides, the government has asked colleges to spend Rs 25,000 from their development fund to arrange LCD TV screens to enable the students to watch the live telecast of the matches.

“It’s a great moment for us. We are enjoying our job of taking students from different schools to the stadium to witness the matches. The students are enjoying it. It’s a great opportunity for them to see world-class players in action,” Subas Chandra Das, Rout, cluster resources centre coordinator, told The Telegraph.

The headmaster of UNIT 9 government high school, Bijay Behera said: “The state government has given passes to us. While students are going to watch the matches, we also show them the live telecast of the matches being played during school time. The students are also being encouraged to play hockey.”

The state government has also asked the college authorities to install LCD screens.

“The instruction regarding the installation of large-scale logos and display of posters in your campus already communicated should be followed scrupulously,” the order from the state government said. Now college students are being asked by the authorities to live telecast of the matches.

“There is a provision to give snacks to students and we are doing it. There is a lot of enthusiasm among students to see the matches,” Dr Sanjay Mohanty of Maharishi College of Natural Law, told this newspaper.

Students should be encouraged to view and participate in the social media activities on the Hockey World Cup being hosted by the government of Odisha.

“It’s great to see the matches here in the hockey stadium. We are closely watching the matches of India on TV,” said Aditi Mohanty, a Class X student of UNIT 8 DAV school in Bhubaneswar.

Besides, story-telling sessions are being organised at four parks in Bhubaneswar for students. Most of the stories are themed on hockey.

Huge posters and billboards carrying photos of hockey players based on themes connected with the game have been put up across the state.

These billboards now dominate the Bhubaneswar and Rourkela sky.