Bhubaneswar, Dec 5 (PTI) The trophy tour of the 2023 Men's FIH Hockey World Cup was kick-started on Monday with Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik handing over the trophy to Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey.

Wishing the trophy tour a grand success, Patnaik said it will be a memorable world cup for the teams and the fans.

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"I hope the Hockey Men's World Cup Trophy Tour will build excitement for the world cup across India. We will be hosting 16 teams and the matches will be played in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela," he said.

Odisha's Sports Minister Tusharkanti Behera and Secretary General of Hockey India Bholanath Singh were among those present at the programme.

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The tournament will start on January 13 and will continue till January 29.

Over the next 21 days, the trophy will travel to 13 states and a UT, including West Bengal, Assam, Delhi, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, before returning to Odisha on December 25.

Once back in Odisha, the trophy will tour all the districts of the state.

The trophy will also be taken to 17 blocks of Sundergarh district, termed the cradle of hockey, officials said.

The trophy will be returning to Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar where the finals will be played on January 29.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)