With the Hockey India scheduled to conduct the 35th Champions Trophy Men’s Hockey tournament at the Kalinga Stadium here from December 13 to 21 in association with Hockey Odisha and the state government, Hockey India CEO Elena Norman is in the city to oversee the progress of the preparatory work and arrangements.
Ms Norman had a meeting in this regard with Sports and Youth Services Department secretary Saswat Mishra today.
“We are trying our best to make the tournament a grand success as this will be the first international hockey event in Odisha,” Mishra told reporters after the meeting.
He also informed that the Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) will be the principal sponsor for the event with a contribution of Rs 4 crore while Tata Steel and NALCO would be the associate sponsors with a contribution of Rs 1.5 crore each.
“Besides, we have roped in Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) to provide health care support to the team players during the tournament”, Mishra added.
“We have given a presentation on the health care support at the time of the international hockey tournament here, said Dr Rabindra Narayan Senapati, chief executive officer (CEO) of KIMS.
A total of eight teams—India, Australia, Netherlands, Pakistan, Belgium, Argentina, England and Germany— would participate in the tournament.