After months of speculation, Odisha has been confirmed as the host state for the upcoming edition of Men’s Hockey World Cup, to be held in 2023. With this, India becomes the first country ever to host successive editions of the tournament.
In addition to Bhubaneswar, this time around, the steel city of Rourkela will also be hosting matches at the Biju Patnaik Hockey Stadium.
Odisha’s reward is well deserved after Bhubaneswar successfully hosted the 2018 edition of the men’s major tournament – receiving much praise from players and coaching staff for the immaculate arrangements and hospitality.
“World Cup is the pinnacle of tournaments in hockey for the FIH. It needs to have a certain standard and, at present, only Bhubaneswar and Delhi have facilities up to that,” IOA and FIH president Narinder Batra said in an interview with Sportstar. “Now Rourkela also has it, it only needs to be upgraded,” he added.
The Kalinga Stadium in Odisha’s capital city has become the go-to destination for all top-level hockey tournaments being conducted in India with the venue playing hosts to the Olympic qualifiers, FIH Series Finals (men’s) and more.
The format of the 2023 World Cup will remain the same as the previous edition.