The opening ceremony of the Men’s Hockey World Cup at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack lasted for about 2.30 hours. Manish Paul and Gauahar Khan hosted the show. Bollywood stars Disha Patani, Ranveer Singh, and music composer Pritam performed along with their crew members.
Pritam reached the stage with songs like ‘Elahi’. Bollywood singers Benny Dayal and Neeti Mohan also performed with him.
Korean pop band Blackswan also performed in front of 40,000 spectators sitting in the stadium.
Sports Minister Anurag Thakur unveiled the trophy
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik along with Sports Minister Anurag Thakur and former Indian hockey player Dilip Tirkey unveiled the World Cup trophy.
Made 105-feet-long hockey
A 105 feet long hockey stick was made from sand on the banks of the Mahanadi river in Cuttack. About 5000 hockey balls were used in this. It took about 2 days to make this hockey, which has the status of the world’s largest sand hockey.
‘Hockey Hai Dil Mera’
Music director Pritam released the ‘Hockey Hai Dil Mera’ anthem 5 days before the opening ceremony. It is the official anthem of the tournament.
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Before the opening ceremony, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik gifted Indian hockey team jerseys to Bollywood stars and artists.
Matches will be played from Friday
World Cup matches will be played from January 13 after the opening ceremony on Wednesday. India’s first match will be against Spain in Rourkela from 7 pm. The final match of the 17-day tournament will be played in Bhubaneswar on January 29. There will be a total of 44 matches in the tournament of 16 teams.
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