New Delhi: After successfully hosting the Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018, India has won the bid to host the 2023 Men’s Hockey World Cup.
This will be a record fourth time that India will host the competition since its inception in 1971.
India had earlier been one among four nations to have submitted a bid to host the 2023 Men’s Hockey World Cup.
The year 2023 holds great significance for the country as India will complete 75 years of independence. It will also be a great opportunity to win the World Cup since their last triumph in 1975.
Five Indian states, including Odisha, are in the running to host the event. Hockey India is yet to disclose the names of the other states in the running.
The FIH Executive Board announced their decision in Lausanne, Switzerland Friday, 8 November 2019 after the FIH Task Force thoroughly examined all bids and made a recommendation to the Executive Board (EB) Wednesday, 6 November 2019.
Hockey India would prefer to host the World Cup between 13 January to 29 January, 2023.
India successfully hosted the 14th edition of Men’s Hockey World Cup which was held at the Kalinga Hockey Stadium in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. Hockey India and especially the Odisha government received accolades from around the world for their hospitality and state-of-the-art facilities as host nation.
The event’s rousing success led Hockey India to bid for the prestigious tournament yet again, and become the first country ever to host four Men’s Hockey World Cups, after having hosted the Men’s Hockey World Cups in 1982 (Mumbai), 2010 (New Delhi) and 2018 (Bhubaneswar).
PNN