Bhubaneswar

With less than 50 days left for the start of the FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela, Hockey India announced a Trophy Tour, during which the World Cup trophy will be taken across various parts of the country.

The tour will officially kick off from December 5 with Chief Minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik handing over the trophy to Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey in Bhubaneswar.

The trophy will travel across 12 states and one Union territory, before returning to Bhubaneswar.

It will return to Odisha on December 25, 2022, after which, the trophy will go on a tour of the state.

Addressing the Trophy Tour, Tirkey said, "The idea behind the initiative is to give the hockey fans across parts of the country an opportunity to glimpse of the prestigious trophy that all the teams will be competing for."

The FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela will begin from January 13, 2023. Hosts India, who are placed in Pool D, along with Spain, England, and Wales, open their campaign against Spain on January 13.

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A Total of 16 teams are competing on the tournament.