Rourkela's Birsa Munda Stadium set to host Sub-junior National Hockey Championship

The largest-seated outdoor hockey stadium in the world will host the 13th Hockey India Sub-junior Women's National Championship 2023 from May 4 to May 14 and the 13th Hockey India Sub-junior Men's National Championship 2023 from May 18 to 28.

Recently, the state had organised the FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup 2023 at Bhubaneswar and Rourkela and the FIH Hockey Men's Pro League 2022-2023 at Rourkela.

The players and officials will be hosted with utmost care and special attention has been dispensed towards hospitality, infrastructure, and any other requisition that the teams may have, the organisers said.

For young athletes, this is a golden opportunity to play in a world-class facility that boasts a newly-laid Astroturf, practice pitches and a seating capacity of over 20,000 spectators, officials said.

The tournament will provide them with a chance to compete with some of the best players from across the country in their age group, gain invaluable experience and imitate the exploits of their heroes. Furthermore, for many of the competitors this would be their first experience playing under the state-of-the-art floodlights, they said.

President of Hockey India, Dilip Trikey welcomed the teams to Rourkela and said, "We saw during the World Cup and the Pro League how Rourkela is always a great venue for hockey, and I am confident that this tournament will be no different. I would like to extend a warm welcome to all the players and teams and wish them the best of luck for the tournament."

"This is an excellent opportunity for our young athletes to showcase their skills, gain valuable experience and take their first steps towards achieving their dreams," he said.

Ahead of the event, state Sports and Youth Services Minister, Tusharkanti Behera, welcomed the teams to Odisha and spoke about the importance of deploying the marvelous infrastructure towards empowering young athletes.

"We are thrilled to welcome the teams to Odisha and are proud to host the 13th Hockey India Sub-junior Women's and Men's National Championships at Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela. This reflects our commitment to providing our young athletes with world-class infrastructure and empowering them to reach their full potential," Krishan said.

While the city of Rourkela is eagerly anticipating the two events, an initiative has also been launched that will provide school children with free entry to the stadium to watch the matches and cheer on the teams. This move has been welcomed by the community, and it is another stride towards inspiring young children to take up the sport and nourish Rourkela's love for hockey.

--IANS

bbm/bsk

( 472 Words)

2023-05-02-20:28:02 (IANS)