ROURKELA: Odisha has aggressively been projecting itself as the sports capital of India. It's already a leader when it comes to hosting big-ticket international events in hockey, be it the men's World Cup in 2018 or the FIH Pro League matches. The Kalinga stadium in Bhubaneswar has become a permanent training base for both the men's and women's national hockey teams since 2018.
The coming eight months will see Odisha hosting two major international competitions - FIFA U-17 women's World Cup in Bhubaneswar between October 11 and 30 and men's hockey World Cup from January 13 to 29, 2023 in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela. India will become the first nation to host four men's hockey World Cups after the success of Mumbai (1982), New Delhi (2010) and Bhubaneswar (2018).