BHUBANESWAR: The magnificent Kalinga Stadium dazzled as the Men’s Hockey World League (HWL) Final kicked off in style with hosts India drawing level with the mighty Australia on Friday evening.
Having taken a 1-0 lead at the 2oth minute, thanks to some fine stickwork from Manpreet Singh, India played out a draw after Australia’s Jeremy Hayward equalised in the next one minute.
It was a befitting start to the tournament which was officially unveiled by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik who wished all teams good luck and unveiled the Hockey World Cup logo as well the trophy.
With the State preparing to host the Hockey Men’s World Cup 2018, Bhubaneswar rolled out the red carpet for top eight nations which will fight for the title at the HWL Final.
The Odisha Government ensured that every single piece fall into place for its first international hockey event. The game turf and a practice ground developed in last couple of years provide international-standard facilities. Kalinga Stadium has played host to plenty of hockey matches in recent times - from Hero Men’s Champions Trophy in 2014 to home ground for Kalinga Lancers in Hockey India League. However, to meet the international standards, the dressing rooms and press gallery were upgraded to suit the needs of the event. While the players, team administrators and spectators were all praise for Team Odisha putting its best foot forward, the State Government made special arrangements for the legislators to watch the inaugural ceremony.
Amidst pyrotechnics that set Bhubaneswar sky ablaze, the inaugural ceremony lasted about 15 minutes showcasing Rising Odisha, a video on the journey of the State. An enthralling Odissi number followed by a Bollywood number Chak De India evoked spontaneous applause from the appreciative crowd. A video on the Odisha Tourism was also released on the occasion.
Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Chandra Sarathi Behera and International Hockey Federation (FIH) president Dr Narinder Dhruv Batra accompanied Naveen.The international competition features two pools of four teams each playing single-legged round-robin till Tuesday before quarter-finals, semi-finals and classification matches. The final is scheduled to be held on December 10. In the first match in the Pool B, Germany defeated England with 2-0.