The Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium is an international field hockey stadium situated at Rourkela, India. The stadium has been named after the tribal leader, Birsa Munda, who was a famous freedom fighter from Khunti, Jharkhand. With a seating capacity of 21,800https://sambadenglish.com/birsa-munda-stadium-is-worlds-largest-hockey-stadium-fih-president/ permanent seats, it is officially recognised by the Guinness World Records as the largest fully seated hockey arena in the world on January 29, 2023.
History When India was bidding for the 2023 Men's FIH Hockey World Cup, it was decided that another hockey stadium would be built in Odisha. The government then allotted 6 hectares of land for building the stadium. The responsibility of constructing the stadium was handed over to Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO). The chairman of IDCO, Sanjay Kumar Singh, also said, "The Government of Odisha has assigned us to construct a world class stadium for the Men's Hockey World Cup 2023 within the given timeline of 12 months." The foundation stone of the stadium was laid by the Chief Minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik in February 2021. It was inaugurated by Chief Minister Patnaik on 5 January 2023.
It is also the fourth largest field hockey stadium in the world. Unlike the other top three stadiums, which are terrace stadiums and are part of multi-purpose sports complex, this stadium is the largest all-seater field hockey-specific stadium which was solely constructed for conducting field hockey matches.
Hockey World Cup The Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium was being built exclusively to host the 2023 Men's FIH Hockey World Cup. This was the fourth time India hosted this event and it was also the second time the World Cup was hosted in Odisha. The 2023 version of the cup held jointly between two cities in the state of Odisha, Bhubaneswar and Rourkela. Along with the Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium, the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar was the other venue for the event.
Events International EventYearOrganiserDatesMen's FIH Hockey World Cup2023Hockey India13–29 January 2023Men's FIH Pro League2022–2310–15 March 2023Women's FIH Pro League2023–2412–25 February 2024Men's FIH Pro League2023–24Men's FIH Pro League2025–2610–15 February 2026
National EventYearOrganiserDatesSub-Junior Women's National Championship2023Hockey India4–14 May 2023Sub-Junior Men's National Championship202318–28 May 2023Junior Women's National Championship202312–22 June 2023Junior Men's National Championship202327 June–7 July 2023Hockey India League2024–2528 December 2024 – 1 February 2025
References