Hockey players practise in the city

Despite Bhubaneswar suffering huge damage after the wrath of cyclone Fani that hit the Odisha coast on May 3, the state government has assured to hold the scheduled multinational hockey event at Kalinga Hockey Stadium in June. The 32-member Indian hockey team arrived in the city on Sunday to a rousing reception and have started their training at the stadium.

Though the stadium suffered a lot of damage, the sports department came forward to take up the repair work so that the scheduled FIH Men’s Series Finals can take place from June 6 to June 15 here. On Tuesday, they held a media briefing before going to their practice session. The team holds its coaching camp here in the city and will keep their practice sessions here at the stadium. The Indian team was in Australia playing a hockey series with the hosts there before coming to Bhubaneswar.
Players missed the beauty of the stadium they had witnessed during the Odisha Men’s Hockey World Cup held at Kalinga Hockey Complex from November 28 to December 14 last year. They felt sorry for the destructions caused by the cyclone but were happy with fast repair work. The players are trying to cope up with the extreme hot and humid condition in the city. “We miss the beauty of the stadium. Many trees have got uprooted and the surrounding looks devastated. We hope hockey will help people forget the pain,” said PR Rajesh, ace goalkeeper.
This international tournament is crucial as it will help some teams qualify for the Tokyo Olympics to be held in 2020. Along with the host country, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Russia, South Africa, USA and Uzbekistan are the other nations taking part in the event.