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Sports is an important part of theculture ofOdisha and plays a key role in development of the state.Field hockey,athletics,association football,cricket,weightlifting,rugby union andrugby sevens are among the most popular sports in theIndian state ofOdisha. Odisha is also referred to as theSports Capital of India,^[1] due to the extensive development of a robust sports ecosystem, infrastructure and hosting of major domestic and international sporting events.^[2] TheKalinga Stadium inBhubaneswar and theBarabati Stadium inCuttack are among the major stadiums in the state.

Field hockey is the most popular sport in the state. In a first-of-its-kind association, theGovernment of Odisha, has become the first state government in India to sponsor a national team. In early 2018, the government launched its sporting logo, signing a five-year sponsorship agreement withHockey India, replacing the former sponsors.^[3]Odisha field hockey team has been providingIndia, with some extremely talented players, who eventually are called up for the national teams, i.e.India men's national field hockey team andIndia women's national field hockey team.

The 35th edition of theHockey Champions Trophy i.e.2014 Men's Hockey Champions Trophy was held between6–14 December 2014 inBhubaneswar, India.^[4]

The 3rd and the last edition of theFIH Hockey World League, i.e. the qualification stage for the2018 Men's Hockey World Cup, was held inKalinga Stadium inBhubaneswar,Odisha

The 14th edition of theHockey World Cup i.e.2018 Men's Hockey World Cup, was held from 28 November to 16 December 2018, at theKalinga Stadium inBhubaneswar,Odisha.Belgium turned out to be the champions after defeatingNetherlands in theFinal on 16 December 2018.

In 2019, the Government of Odisha, Tata Steel & Tata Trusts (Hockey Ace foundation) joined hands to launchOdisha Naval Tata Hockey High Performance Centre to train and prepare the next generation of hockey talent in the state.^[5]

Not an exhaustive list.

Represented in major global and continental competitions.

Sport of athletics is another major sport in the state. Odisha has been producing some of the India's finest athletes who dominate in national and international sporting events. The 22nd edition of theAsian Athletics Championships i.e.2017 Asian Athletics Championships, was held from 6 to 9 July 2017 at theKalinga Stadium inBhubaneswar,Odisha,India. Around 560 athletes from 41 countries attended the international event.^[6][7]

Association football is also an uprising, popular sport inOdisha.Football Association of Odisha (FAO) is the administrating governing body forfootball inOdisha. In women's football particularly, theOdisha women's football team has dominated at national levels. They have a teamOdisha FC that plays and compete with others inISL. Odisha FC also has awomen's team that plays in theIndian Women's League. A club calledSports Odisha also participates in this league, as well as the Indian men's fourth division of football,I-League 3. A club known asSamaleswari SC also used to play in theI-League Second Division, which was then the second tier in Indian Football.

Cricket is a popular sport inOdisha and is immensely popular among the masses of the state. It houses theBarabati Stadium atCuttack which the home ground of the state cricket teams. TheOdisha Cricket Association (OCA) is the administrating governing body for cricket inOdisha. In domestic cricket, theOdisha cricket team andOdisha women's cricket team competes at national levels.

Weightlifting is a popular sport inOdisha and is immensely popular in theGanjam district, especially in the city ofBrahmapur.^[8] The Odisha Weightlifting Association (OWA) is the administrating governing body for weightlifting inOdisha.

Rugby is popular both in men and women categories in Odisha. TheOdisha Rugby Football Association is the state's administrating body forrugby football inOdisha. TheOdisha women's rugby union team andOdisha women's rugby sevens team have been dominating since the past decade having won nearly all competitions at national levels. On the other hand,Odisha rugby union team andOdisha rugby sevens team have also made odisha proud with their performance at national levels. Both men and women ofOdisha have providedIndia some of its best players. Odisha will be hosting theAsia Rugby Women's Championship from 26 to 28 October 2018.^[9]

The Government of Odisha, in collaboration with various entities, have launched a few High Performance Centres at Kalinga Stadium in order to provide high-class training, facilities and infrastructure to the young sportsmen of Odisha. The list of HPCs is as follows:

• Abhinav Bindra Targeting Performance (ABTP)
• Dalmia Bharat Gopichand Badminton Academy
• JSW Swimming HPC
• Khelo India State Centre of Excellence (KISCE) for Athletics, Hockey, and Weightlifting
• KJS Ahluwalia and Tenvic Sports HPC for Weightlifting
• Odisha Naval Tata Hockey High Performance Centre (ONTHHPC)^[10]
• OdishaAditya Birla andGagan Narang Shooting HPC
• Reliance Foundation Odisha Athletics HPC
• SAI Regional Badminton Academy^[11]
• AIFF High Performance Centre^[12]

Odisha have been hosting various sporting events in the recent years.

• Odisha Government Portal
• Sports & Youth Services (Government of Odisha)
• Odisha Naval Tata Hockey HPC official website

• Odisha
• Sport in Odisha

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