Ahead of the FIH Hockey Men’s World Cup being held in Odisha from January 13 to 29, the glittering trophy for which 16 countries including hosts India will compete will be brought to the campus of Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan (SOA) here on Christmas day as part of its tour through the temple city.

The trophy, presently on a countrywide tour for exhibition, would reach Bhubaneswar on December 25 and taken around the city for the benefit of the general public.

The trophy would be briefly kept in the SOA Deemed to be University’s new stadium for the students, faculty members and staff members to have a glimpse of the prize and have a feel of the international event. The trophy would be received by the Vice-Chancellor Prof. (Dr.) Ashok Kumar Mahapatra. A large gathering of students is expected at the venue where NCC cadets would be on attendance. A cultural program would also be staged to mark the visit of the trophy.

This is for the second consecutive time that Odisha is hosting the world hockey championship having done so in 2018 when all matches were played at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar. This will be the 15th edition of the World Cup and this time the matches would be played at two places—the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar and the brand new Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium in Rourkela.