BHUBANESWAR: ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India (AM/NS India), a joint venture between ArcelorMittal and Japan’s Nippon Steel has been announced as the official partner of the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup scheduled to start from November 24 at Kalinga Stadium.
The AM/NS India on Wednesday signed an agreement with Hockey India in this regard. The event that will witness participation from 16 countries will continue till December 5.
“Odisha has become synonymous with the success of Indian hockey and it is one of the key states for AM/NS India, given our extensive operations’ presence here. We are proud to have this opportunity to support the development of hockey, which is also known for strength and agility,” said Dilip Oommen, chief executive officer of AM/NS India.
Expressing his gratitude to AM/NS India for the partnership, Hockey India president Gyanendro Ningombam said the biggest gainers from AM/NS India’s support are the sport of hockey itself, and more importantly the talented players, who will be taking part in the tournament.
AM/NS India has already invested around Rs 2,000 crore to expand its pellet plant at Paradip and beneficiation complex at Dabuna in Keonjhar and slurry pipeline, which it got after acquiring the Essar Steel following bankruptcy proceedings. The company has inked an MoU with the state government to set up a steel mill in Kendrapada by investing Rs 50,000 crore.
The international teams have started arriving in the city for the marquee event. While Belgium had arrived on Tuesday, three more teams-- Netherlands, France and Argentina--landed here for the tournaments.
The host India that would defend the trophy has been camping here since past one week for the event. All the 16 teams are scheduled to arrive here by November 22.
