Fans were left dejected after the server meant for sale of online tickets for the opening ceremony of Men’s Hockey World Cup on November 27 at Kalinga Sports Complex slowed down considerably, not allowing them to book passes for the event.

While the state sports department denied having any role in the sale of tickets for the opening ceremony, the Congress called it a scam.

Thousands of fans were glued to computers, laptops and mobile phones to book tickets on `www.ticketgenie.in`. The booking opened at noon, but soon the screen displayed messages saying that tickets had been sold out or there was connectivity error.

“The authorities have earlier clarified that the tickets for the opening ceremony can only be bought online. We had waited for hours to book the tickets. The website also made a digital queue, but the tickets were sold out shortly after the online sale began,” said Smurti Ranjan Sahu, a fan.

Hockey India later came up with a clarification on its Twitter handle saying that the website slowed down due to huge demand for tickets and a queue system had to be put in the place.

On November 15, angry fans had ransacked the ticket counters at the Kalinga Stadium after they were told that inaugural ceremony tickets would not be sold over the counters.

On the same day, the organisers also came up with hosting another musical concert of A.R. Rahman in Cuttack on November 28.

Rahman, along with Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, will perform in the opening ceremony to be held at the tournament venue on November 27.

Resentment gripped the fans as tickets for the matches involving India and the knockout clashes were sold out barely one hour after the counters had opened on November 5. Thousands of fans had to return empty handed after standing in long queues for hours. Spokesperson for the Congress media panel, Nishikant Mishra, suspected that the foul play in the sale of online tickets. He accused the BJD and the BJP of illegally grabbing tickets.

“The online sale of tickets has deprived the hockey fans of the state to witness the opening ceremony. A detailed investigation should be conducted to ascertain the exact number of tickets sold to fans online,” Mishra said.