Hockey fever engulfs Bengaluru as World Cup 2023 trophy arrives

BENGALURU: Hockey fever engulfed Bengaluru as the Trophy Tour of the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar – Rourkela reached the IT Capital of India on Friday after a successful visit to Kerala and Tamil Nadu in South India.

President Hockey Karnataka S.V.S. Subramanya Gupta welcomed the Trophy at the Kempegowda International Airport, and the prestigious Trophy was unveiled by Thawar Chand Gehlot, Honourable Governor of Karnataka at the Raj Bhavan.

Later in the day, the World Cup Trophy was displayed at the Field Marshal KM Cariappa Hockey Stadium in presence of legendary hockey stars Padma M.P. Ganesh, who captained the Indian Team in the 1973 Hockey World Cup where India clinched the silver medal. He was joined by Khel Ratna awardee and four-time World Cupper Dhanraj Pillay, A.B. Subbaiah, V.R. Raghunath, Ravi Nayakar, Sabu Varkey, Ashish Ballal, Arjun Halappa, S.K. Uthappa, Nikkin Thimmiah, Vickram Kanth and current National team player Mohammed Raheel.

In addition, the Hockey World Cup 2023 Trophy was displayed at Sri Bhagwan Mahaveer Jain College and Vidyashilp School where students were jubilant as they celebrated the arrival of the coveted Trophy and cheered the Indian Men’s Team on with “Jai Ho” slogans.

In the lead up to the prestigious FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar – Rourkela which begins on 13th January 2023, the coveted trophy will travel across 13 states and one Union Territory before returning to Odisha on 25th December, thus giving the fans and public a chance to engage with the prestigious trophy before the winning team lifts it on 29th January 2023.

The nation-wide Trophy Tour was launched in Bhubaneswar on 5th December by the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Odisha Shri Naveen Patnaik. Following which the trophy will journey across West Bengal, Manipur, Assam, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, New Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh.