A ‘Heart Beats for Hockey’ campaign was launched by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik here on Wednesday ahead of the Hockey Men’s World Cup-2018 scheduled to be held at the Kalinga Stadium here from November 28 to December 16.
Patnaik also unveiled a countdown clock for the mega sporting event at the Kalinga Stadium.
“Hockey has a prominent place in the sports history of Odisha. Odisha has produced brilliant hockey players who have brought laurels for the country at the international sports arena,” Patnaik said.
“The World Cup is hockey’s highest ranking tournament. Therefore, my Government is taking all the steps to organise it in a befitting manner and ensure that it’s a grand success,” he said.
The campaign, which will witness participation of the national hockey team, aims at garnering public support for hockey through music, entertainment, fashion, sport and panel discussions. It will urge people to pledge their support to the game with the slogan, “My heart beats for hockey, does yoursij”.
Besides, ‘Heartbeat Centres’ will be set up in selected cities across the country including Jalandhar, lucknow, Ranchi, New Delhi and Chennai to promote the world cup.
As part of the campaign, specially designed hockey sticks will be installed and made available in six cities, Chandigarh, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Bhopal, Rourkela and Imphal. Additionally, two permanent installations at the Kalinga Stadium will be made accessible to the public.