Odisha Men’s Hockey World Cup

Hockey is one of the most ancient games perhaps even older than the Olympics. In the Indian subcontinent, Hockey spread with the advent of British rule in the late 19th century. The first ever hockey club was established in Calcutta in 1885. This was followed by establishment of a number of clubs in different parts of the country. On 7th November 1925 all these clubs assembled in Gwalior and formed Indian Hockey Federation (IHF). IHF got authorization from International Hockey Federation (FIH) in 1927 which paved the way for India’s participation in the Summer Olympic Games of 1928 at Amsterdam in which the Indian Team won the Gold Medal. This was followed by 5 consecutive Olympic Gold Medals in Hockey in Los Angeles Olympics (1932), Berlin Olympics (1936), London Olympics (1948), Helsinki Olympics (1952) and Melbourne Olympics (1956). To date, Indian Men’s Hockey Team has won eight Gold, one Silver and two Bronze medals.

The capital of Odisha, Bhubaneswar is hosting the prestigious Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018 from 28th November to 16th December, 2018. The Men’s Hockey World Cup is an international field hockey competition organised by the International Hockey Federation (FIH). The tournament was started in 1971. It is held every four years, bridging the four years between the Summer Olympics.

This is the 14th edition of the biggest tournament in Men’s Hockey alongside the Olympics. It is for the third time that India is hosting the tournament having organized it in 1982 at Mumbai and in 2010 at New Delhi. This year’s tournament will make India only the second nation to host three Men’s Hockey World Cups, after Netherlands which has hosted it on three occasions: 1973, 1998 and 2014. A total of sixteen teams from around the world are participating in the quadrennial event which is being held at the Kalinga Hockey Stadium which can house 15000 people with addition of new stands and galleries. It is only the second time in the history of the competition that sixteen teams will be competing for the title. A total of 36 matches would be played over a span of 19 days in the tournament where the sixteen teams will be divided into four teams each.

Hockey India is the apex body of the country which has the sole mandate to govern and conduct all activities for both men and women hockey in India. It is recognized as the National Sports Federation by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Government of India and is also affiliated to the International Hockey Federation (FIH), the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and Asian Hockey Federation (AHF). Government of Odisha is the sponsor of both the Men’s and Women’s National Hockey Teams in a partnership with Hockey India (HI) till 2023. The craze of Hockey amongst the public in Odisha has seen the state grow into a global hub for the sport, with several players emerging to represent the Indian National team. This initiative is the first of its kind for any State Government. Government of Odisha, has partnered with FIH and Hockey India to provide their support to the sport and have been making preparations throughout the State to welcome hockey tourists from around the world who are expected to visit to witness the action.