Kalinga Lancers to debut in Hockey India League (HIL) today

Kalinga Lancers, the sixth franchise of the Hockey India League (HIL) will hit the field in the second edition of the premier event at 8pm after a star-studded opening ceremony at Kalinga stadium.

Kalinga Lancers will start their campaign with a clash against the Jaypee Punjab Warriors at home. All eyes will be on the Terry Walsh coached Odisha team during the match in Bhubaneswar and how well he will be successful in grooming his boys to face the opponents and challenge of HHIL.

However, the lukewarm response towards ticket sales for the first match of Kalinga Lancers against Punjab Warriors has become a major concern for the organisers.

Out of 7,000 seats, the company had decided to sell 5,000 tickets online and through the counters as well. The hockey stadium in the city will host five encounters on January 28, February 1, 2, 13 and 14.

Odia filmstars – Akash Das Nayak, Anu Choudhary and internationally acclaimed dancer Harihar Das would perform in the opening ceremony that will kick-start at 6.15 pm.