Bhubaneswar, Oct 8 (Pratyusha Bureau): Odisha has been globally recognised as the hub for hockey, and now international teams are willing to visit the state to utilise the infrastructure provided for hockey. For the first time, an international hockey team visited Odisha to play friendly matches with the hockey players from the state.
Kazakhstan U-16 men’s hockey team, comprising 18 members and 2 coaches visited Bhubaneswar to have a one-week training camp and play practice matches with the Odisha Hockey HPC U-16 boys team and the KIIT University/KISS team. They played five practice matches.
The training program with friendly matches was facilitated by the Department of Sports and Youth Services in collaboration with the Hockey Association of Odisha.
On the concluding day of their tour, a friendly match was played today at the Kalinga Stadium where the Kazakhstan team defeated KIIT/KISS team by 4-2 goals.
Felicitating the Kazakhstan team after the match, Dilip Trikey, President of Hockey India, said, “It’s good to see that international teams are choosing our place to utilise the infrastructures provided for hockey. It was good exposure for our players as well as they got an opportunity to play an international team. For the development of hockey, such friendly matches are necessary and we hope more such matches will be played in the coming days.”
Impressed with the facilities for hockey in Odisha, the Kazakhstan team shared their willingness to visit the state for more such practice matches.
