Biju Patnaik rural hockey championship, one of the largest sport carnival in state is all set to kick off today from steel city Rourkela. The event’s enormity which is a world record itself encompasses 1300 teams with about 25000 players from three states Odisha, Chhatisgarh and Jharkhand.
Chief Guest Vice President Hamid Ansari will inaugurate the event in presence of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, MP and Minister Jual Oram, state sports minister Sudam Marndi, and MP Dilip Tirkey.
The championship is being organised by Dilip Tirkey Sports Research and Development Foundation Sources said the event’s enormity is a world record.
The total prize money will be around Rs. 30 lakhs and matches will be played at different venues across four months in three states — Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.
The hockey league will continue till March next year and will be played in 23 hockey fields spread across the three states. The event is aimed at developing the sport in the grass root level.