Odia Girl Namita Melanka Gets Featured In Hockey World Cup Anthem

Bhubaneswar: Unbeknownst to herself, this 17-year-old from the isolated Chintaguda village in the Koraput district would one day have the opportunity to represent Odisha on the international stage thanks to the video of a song she had performed during COVID-19. The men’s hockey World Cup will be hosted in the state capital and Rourkela next month, and Rama Devi Women’s University student Namita Melanka is a member of the choir that will perform the tournament’s anthem.

Speaking to Odisha Bhaskar, Namita said, “I am extremely thrilled to have gotten this opportunity, I would like to thank Dilip Tirkey sir for entrusting me with the task. I really enjoyed working on the song.”

Check out the full interview here-

Namita will perform the anthem composed by Bollywood music maestro Pritam at the World Cup opening ceremony to be held in Cuttack’s Barabati Stadium on January 11, 2023 and at the city festival in Bhubaneswar on January 17.

She recorded her part of the song in a studio in Mumbai on Dec 16.

Namita is the youngest of six sisters and comes from a family of subsistence farmers. During the COVID-19 pandemic, her video of Neha Kakkar’s “Mile Ho Tum Humko” went viral on social media, making her an internet sensation. She doesn’t have any formal singing training. Her teachers, friends, and parents used to cheer her on while listening to her sing. She now intends to pursue a singing career. Additionally, Namita has sung a few songs in her native Kui language and in Odia.