‘Hockey is our way of life’ reads a poster on the exit of the brand new Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium right here. It actually is for folks of Sundargarh district.
Nestled within the undulating tableland with low-ranging hills and inexperienced cowl, the second largest and mineral wealthy district of Odisha is house to a number of tribes with one factor widespread throughout villages – hockey.
Drive from Rourkela, the most important metropolis of the district, into the countryside and one can see youngsters taking part in hockey on barren plots subsequent to lush paddy fields. These grounds have produced round 100 internationals –senior and junior of each genders. From Hockey India (HI) president Dilip Tirkey, the primary from Odisha to symbolize India seniors, to the 2 taking part in at this World Cup, Amit Rohidas and Nilam Sanjeep Xess.
Almost 90 p.c of Odisha’s hockey gamers come from Sundargarh. The British troopers of the East India Company introduced hockey to India 200 years in the past. Christian missionaries who had been establishing colleges within the Chota Nagpur plateau then unfold the sport within the area. “The missionaries came to this area from Ranchi. They made hockey compulsory in their schools. They would take classes for the game after seeing that tribal people have speed and stamina. That is how my forefathers, my father and I learnt hockey. That is how it spread in Sundargarh,” mentioned Peter Tirkey, a tribal participant and the primary from Odisha to symbolize India, on the 1982 Junior World Cup.
Murals in Sundargarh district of Odisha the place hockey is greater than only a sport.(HT Photos)
The custom has endured. Hockey is the preferred sport among the many tribal folks. Village girls and boys nonetheless trend hockey sticks from bamboo, taking part in barefoot in open village squares.
“Since there was no other entertainment everyone would pack food and leave home in the morning and come to the only church in the area on Sundays to witness inter-village competitions… That stoked the fascination for hockey here,” says Dronacharya awardee AK Bansal, who educated Dilip Tirkey throughout his stint as coach with Sports Authority of India (SAI), Sundargarh from 1987-92. Bansal has a PhD on tribal hockey.
Once India grew to become unbiased, the army began recruiting from the belt. The late Michael Kindo (1975 World Cup winner), although born in neighbouring Jharkhand, is essentially the most well-known recruit from the realm.
To nurture hockey in Sundargarh, the Odisha authorities established the State Sports Hostel in Panposh in 1985. The SAIL Hockey Academy got here up in Rourkela in 1992.
Dilip Tirkey’s rise – the primary from Odisha to play for India seniors in 1995 – had a serious impression on the hockey loving inhabitants of Sundargarh. Seeing a boy from Saunamara village play for India and later captain the nationwide crew reworked the image. Since then Sundargarh district has produced round 100 India gamers. Watching Lazarus Barla, William Xalxo, Ignace Tirkey, Prabodh Tirkey and others on TV taking part in within the Olympics and World Cups made the tribal gamers consider they can also do it.
Jobs had been a key issue too. “The locals started seeing hockey as anna data (food provider). They saw their brothers and sisters from the mud house next door travel the world, get jobs with prestigious companies; it gave them hope it could happen for them. That thing is still continuing,” says Kalu Charan Choudhary, a hockey coach at Panposh since 1987 who has guided 50-odd internationals.
With many gamers from Sundargarh making the minimize for India, the state authorities opened one other State Sports Hostel there in 1999, with the Sports Authority of India’s Sports Training Centre (STC) following go well with.
Panposh is the largest centre with 199 trainees, the SAIL academy has 32, the Sundargarh state hostel has 37 and the SAI centre has 60. Panposh has produced 67 internationals, together with Olympic bronze medallist Rohidas. SAIL has produced 11, together with Olympic bronze medallist Birendra Laka.
Trainees in entrance of the SAIL Academy.(HT Photos)
The academies maintain block-wise trials in Odisha. “We don’t focus on skills. We test physical fitness after which they undergo a medical test. Normally, they are aged 10-14. We check their endurance in 800m, speed in 30m sprint and long jumps to test leg strength. After they make the merit list, we teach them the A to Z of hockey in the first two years, build game sense. When they are ready, they go and play tournaments, first at local level, then school, district, state and national,” says Choudhary.
The trainees are offered free meals and lodging; the hostels spend round ₹280 every day by day on weight loss plan. The SAIL academy offers one thing additional. “We normally have a three-year term for athletes with provision for two-year extensions depending on performance. Our first-year trainees get ₹1,000 per month as pocket money, second years get ₹1,100 and third years ₹1,250,” says Peter Tirkey, who has produced 11 internationals from 1992 to his retirement at SAIL coach at December finish.
“We normally buy hockey equipment for ourselves with the pocket money,” says 18-year-old Rajkumar Minz, who hails from Subdega and has performed at two junior nationals.
Sonu Nishad, 17, is delighted each time Lakra, a SAIL product, drops in. “He asks us to focus and be disciplined saying that will take us far.”
With extra Odisha gamers reaching the nationwide and worldwide stage, the federal government started internet hosting high worldwide tournaments on the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, beginning with the 2014 Champions Trophy. The area grew to become the primary on the earth to host successive World Cups, having additionally staged the 2018 version when the federal government introduced the laying of 17 new artificial turfs I Sundargarh.
In 2018, the Odisha authorities grew to become the primary sponsor of the Indian groups, signing a ₹100 crore deal for 5 years. In 2021, they renewed the contract for 10 years for an undisclosed sum after India gained bronze on the Tokyo Olympics.
“Of them, 16 have been completed… The idea is to strengthen and develop the sport among kids. The craze for hockey is on the rise. People here watch and talk hockey on the streets,” says Dilip Tirkey. Today, there are 23 artificial turfs in Sundargarh district alone.
“Hockey has a special importance here. I see a greater number of kids playing hockey because they are getting opportunities,” said Amit Rohidas, who is a product of the Panposh hostel. “Hockey has not become but has always been a way of life here.”
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