Rourkela: In preparation for this year's Men's Hockey World Cup, a 40-foot-tall statue of an Indian hockey player was erected in Rourkela, in the Sundargarh region of Odisha. On Sunday, a thunderstorm caused the statue to fall, according to officials.
Prior to the FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup 2023, the iron statue was erected in January near Bisra Munda International Hockey Stadium, next to Rourkela Airport.
Both legs of the statue broke due to strong winds and it fell sideways, they said.
The statue was built by a Bhubaneswar-based firm at a cost of Rs 30.68 lakh.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had unveiled the statue ahead of the World Cup.
Rourkela Municipal Corporation Commissioner Subhankar Mohapatra said a committee has been formed to look into the reasons behind the collapse of the statue, which was erected barely five months ago.