2018 Men’s Hockey World Cup Mascot: Olly, the Olive Ridley Sea Turtle Is Officially Unveiled as Mascot in Odisha

The Hockey World Cup 2018 is just around the corner and the state of Odisha is leaving no stone unturned to host the mega-event. Just on Tuesday, the Ministry of sports and youth affair in Odisha unveiled the mascot of the game. Bathed in green, the mascot is named Olly was launched at the Puri beach and wooed the on-lookers. The World Cup Trophy was also launched along with the mascot. Shah Rukh Khan to Attend Men’s Hockey World Cup 2018 Opening Ceremony; Says His Heart Beats for the Sport!

He was also seen jet-skiing and later unmounted the same and even met the officials from the sports ministry and even went on to be a part of the unveiling ceremony. The mascot aims to raise awareness about the Olive Ridley turtle which is now on the verge of getting extinct. The mascot also is the personification of the spirit of sportsmanship and encourages the players to play in the right spirit of the game with complete fairness. The mascot also indulged into a short photo session after the trophy was unveiled.

Here is another image of the mascot.

The mega-event is all set to kick off from November 28-December 16, 2018 and will be held at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhuvneshwar. The event will witness the participation of about 16 countries. Australia has been the most successful country when it comes to winning the trophy. Whereas, India has won the trophy only once in 1975. As a part of preparations, the teams will play a few matches against Pakistan, Malaysia and Korea and Asian Games gold medalists Japan. With Sardar Singh retiring from international hockey last month, Mandeep Singh will be leading the squad.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 10, 2018 04:50 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).