Narinder Dhruv Batra, front, visits the stadium in Rourkela ©OCA

The President of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), Narinder Dhruv Batra, has visited one of the venues for the 2023 FIH Men's Hockey World Cup, which is set to take place in his home nation.

Calling the visit "very exciting and purposeful", Batra made the trip to Rourkela in the east of India earlier this month to see the facilities that will be available for the World Cup, meeting state sports leaders, senior civil servants, police authorities and other stakeholders, including those from the Steel Authority of India.

"The decision will be taken soon by the Government of Odisha to either renovate the existing stadium or make a new stadium with a 20,000 plus capacity," said Batra in a Facebook post.

"The stadium has to be ready for use by or before July 2022, and secondly, talks need to be started with the Government of India to allow Rourkela Airport to start regular flights for passengers.

India is set to host the Men's Hockey World Cup for the second edition in a row after holding the 2018 competition ©Getty Images
India is set to host the Men's Hockey World Cup for the second edition in a row after holding the 2018 competition ©Getty Images

"The visit was very exciting and purposeful.

"It was interesting to see a new hockey hub coming up in India, especially in an area which is hockey-centric and has produced many Olympians in both men and women for Indian hockey."

The 2023 FIH Men's Hockey World Cup is scheduled to take place in Bhubaneshwar and Rourkela in India from January 13 to 29.

Sixteen teams from five confederations are set to compete for the title.