Chief Minister Raman Singh will be dedicating the International Hockey Stadium in the name of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on the occasion of Dhanteras in Raipur on Monday.
Notably, Singh had announced to name the stadium after Iron Man’s name while marking the latter’s 140th birth anniversary on October 31 this year.
The veteran freedom fighter Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was the first Deputy Prime Minister as well as the Home Minister.
The programme will be organized at Government Nagarjuna Post Graduate College of Science wherein Assembly Speaker Gaurishankar Agrawal will preside.
Raipur Member of Parliament Ramesh Bais, State Agriculture and Water Resources Department Minister Brijmohan Agrawal, State Public Works Department Minister Rajesh Munat, State Women and Child Development Department Minister Ramsheela Sahu along with other dignitaries will be present, stated officials.
Besides, Ministers and Government Officials, former Indian Hockey Team Member Vincent lakra, Chhattisgarh Olympic Association Secretary General Baldev Singh Bhatia and Chhattisgarh Hockey Association President Anil Verma will also be attending the ceremony.
The State Sports and Youth Welfare Department has appealed to all residents to witness the celebrations.
Notably, preparations are already in full swing for staging of the World Hockey league final matches to be hosted in Raipur. The matches will be played from November 27 to December 6 this year.
This will be the first International Hockey event to be staged in Chhattisgarh.
The Hockey World league Final will be an extremely exciting event with all eight teams qualified for 2016 Olympics. This will be one of the last opportunities to test themselves against one another in international competition before they head out for Rio for the Games later next year, FIH President leandro Negre had stated on his visit to Raipur early last month.
He had stated that 'India has a strong connection with Hockey and FIH is delighted to be taking the showcase competition to the city that has shown a great desire to host International hockey tournaments.
We have no doubt that the local organizers and the people of Raipur will put on a fantastic event for athletes, spectators and TV viewers around the world, Negre said.
Chief Minister Raman Singh had stated that it is a proud moment for the people of Chhattisgarh. When we started work on the stadium the aim was to make a world class stadium, he had stated.
I welcome hockey fans from across the world and invite them to come and witness the exhilarating hockey set to be witnessed here in the month of November and December, Chief Minister Raman Singh had stated.
Dr Narinder Dhruv Batra, President of Hockey India said it is a great news for the hockey fraternity. This will be a huge motivation not only for Hockey India but also for the officials of Raipur Stadium.
Meanwhile, Hockey India, the apex body for the game in India has announced the commencement of the on ground ticket sales of this year’s biggest global field hockey event, the Hero Hockey World league Final 2015.
The session tickets in the group stages have been priced from `50 denominations and every ticket holder will be allowed to view all the matches of that day for which they hold the tickets. The International Hockey Stadium, Raipur which would host an international hockey event for the very first time in its history has a capacity to accommodate over 3,000 spectators.
To encourage the hockey fans to watch all India games, the timings of all India matches have been scheduled at 18.30 hrs in the pool stage.
Speaking about the development, Mohd. Mustaque Ahmad, Secretary General, Hockey India said, “This is the biggest global hockey event for this calendar year, and it’s a great opportunity for Raipur to host an event of such a huge stature.
The event will be our first step towards providing the Chhattisgarh audience a real perspective to what an international hockey tournament is all about. The Hero Hockey World league final will also form as part of preparation platform for the Indian team before heading to the Rio Olympics next year.”
He further added, “With the rise in the popularity of the sport in the country in the recent years, across various sectors in the country, it is our duty to provide the young and enthusiastic spectators an opportunity to witness such a large scale international tournament in our home country.
The International Hockey Stadium in Raipur is a world-class facility and I am confident that all the visiting teams along with our national team will enjoy competing here in the midst of a highly energetic and involved audience, Ahmad said.