Hockey World Cup 2023 Opening Ceremony: Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Inaugurates Tournament; Ranveer Singh, Disha Patani Enthrall Audience

Hockey World Cup 2023: The tournament is set to begin on January 13 and culminate on January 29.

The Hockey World Cup is being held in Odisha for the second successive time. ( Image Source :Twitter/@sports_odisha )

Cuttack: The FIH Men's Hockey World Cup 2023 was inaugurated by the Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at Cuttack's Barabati Stadium in Odisha on Wednesday (January 11). Union Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs Anurag Singh Thakur and several senior officials of International Hockey Federation (FIH) were also present at the occasion.

It was the Odisha CM Patnaik who gave the inaugural address at the opening ceremony of the Hockey World Cup which is being held in the eastern state of India for the second successive time with the 2018 edition of the competition also being staged in Odisha. CM Patnaik expressed his delight over the return of the marquee hockey competition. 

Notably, the FIH Men's Hockey World Cup fixtures will be staged across two stadiums in Odisha-  the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar and the Birsa Munda Stadium in Rourkela. Bollywood actors Ranveer Singh and Disha Patani were the showstoppers of the evening as they enthralled the audience with their performances along with BLACKSWAN, a global girl music group, who entertained an audience of 50,000.

It is a pleasure meeting popular actor @RanveerOfficial ahead of #HockeyWorldCup2023 Celebrations at Barabati Stadium, #Cuttack. I am sure his presence will add lot of charm to the celebration. Let’s all join to celebrate the spirit of hockey. #HockeyComesHome.#HWC2023 pic.twitter.com/IksYt5HnhI

— Naveen Patnaik (@Naveen_Odisha) January 11, 2023

Music Director Pritam, who has created the Hockey World Cup Anthem this time around, was also present on the occasion and performed a Youth Concert involving renowned Indian singers like Benny Dayal, Neeti Mohan along with a Drone
Show.

Performances from local artists were also lined up on the evening.

The tournament is set to begin on January 13 and culminate on January 29.

Team India’s full squad: PR Sreejesh, Krishna Pathak, Surender Kumar, Harmanpreet Singh (Captain), Varun Kumar, Amit Rohidas (Vice Captain), Nilam Sanjeep Xess, Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh,  Nilakanta Sharma, Shamsher Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Akashdeep Singh, Mandeep Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Abhishek, Sukhjeet Singh, Rajkumar Pal, Jugraj Singh

India's Group-Stage Fixtures at Hockey World Cup 2023
India vs Spain - 13 January at 7.00 PM IST in Rourkela
India vs England - 15 January at 7.00 PM IST in Rourkela
India vs Wales - 19 January at 7.00 PM IST in Bhubaneshwar