New Delhi: Bollywood actors Ranveer Singh and Disha Patani met Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik ahead of the FIH Hockey World Cup in the state. The actors will be performing at the inauguration ceremony of the sporting event. Bhubaneswar and Rourkela are set to host the World Cup while the inauguration and the trophy celebrations will begin on January 11 at 6 pm IST at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack.
The actors received team India’s jerseys of their name and got clicked with CM Naveen Patnaik.
Moments to cherish!
Bollywood heartthrobs @RanveerOfficial and @DishPatani met Hon’ble CM @Naveen_Odisha ahead of their performance at the World Cup Celebrations in #BarabatiStadium, Cuttack.#HockeyComesHome #OdishaForHockey #HockeyWorldCup2023 #HockeyHaiDilMera pic.twitter.com/KT9cFHVr8B
— Odisha Sports (@sports_odisha) January 10, 2023
While Ranveer and Disha will perform at the stadium for 40,000 people and the event will also be streamed with giant LED screens in the 16 Hockey Fan Parks all around the city. Popular music composer Pritam, who composed the official anthem of the World Cup “Hockey Hai Dil Mera”, will also perform at the event with the 11 singers who sang the anthem. The event also featured performances by Bollywood singers Neeti Mohan and Benny Dayal.
The K-pop band, Black Swan, which includes Odisha singer Shreya Lenka as a member, will also be gracing the evening with their performance.
The festivities are about to get underway for the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023! #HWC2023
Watch the trophy celebrations featuring @DishPatani, @RanveerOfficial, @ipritamofficial and many more celebrities LIVE only on https://t.co/igjqkvA4ct today at 1800 IST (1330 CET).
— International Hockey Federation (@FIH_Hockey) January 11, 2023
The 15th edition of the Men’s Hockey World Cup begins on January 13, and will also feature games in Birsa Munda International Hockey stadium in Rourkela. India is placed in Pool D along with Spain, England and Wales.
We are creating World’s longest sand Hockey stick of 105ft long, with installation of more than 5000 hockey balls on Mahanadi river bank at #Cuttack. Odisha. My Students joined hand with me. #HockeyComesHome #HockeyWorldCup2023 #HWC2023 #OdishaForHockey pic.twitter.com/r5YoF0A5mC
— Sudarsan Pattnaik (@sudarsansand) January 10, 2023
Though India won their last World Cup in 1975, the bronze medal victory at the Tokyo Olympics, the silver medal at Commonwealth Games and the bronze at FIH Pro League are the signs which show Harmanpreet Singh and his side as strong contenders for the cup.