Why Odisha is the Home for Hockey and its History?
The Hockey World Cup has been over for a month. Also, there is a lot to learn about how popular hockey is in Odisha.
All of this began with Odisha’s chief minister, Naveen Patnaik, who was a goalkeeper while he was a student at Doon International School and had a history of playing hockey. Hockey is more than just a sport in Odisha; it is a way of life. Children begin walking with hockey sticks in Odisha’s tribal districts, a practice that was started by Christian missionaries who formerly visited the region.
Dilip Tirkey, as per the resources I’ve read, this person is the root cause of Odisha becoming the home for hockey sport. Dilip Tirkey, the former player and now Chairman of the Hockey Odisha Promotion Council Board and the chairman of the ad-hoc committee for hockey in Odisha, and former Rajya Sabha Member had approached CM Naveen Patnaik in 2003 with the idea of constructing a hockey stadium and to promote the sport in Odisha. Tirkey says that the CM immediately agreed to the request and asked for a detailed proposal.
After the Sahara exited in 2018, the Odisha state government took responsibility for sponsoring the Indian national hockey teams both at the junior and Senior levels. The Odisha state government has signed rupees 150 crore deal to sponsor both the Men’s and Women’s hockey teams with hockey India for the coming 5 years. This is the first time a state government to sponsor a national team.
The Kalinga Stadium which is a multi-purpose international sports complex located at Bidyut Marg, Bhubaneswar, Odisha was built and opened in 1978 by then Odisha’s CM Biju Patnaik. The 2017 Asian Athletics Championship was held at Kalinga stadium. Bhubaneswar is called the sports capital of India for conducting a large number and wide variety of sports events and also for training future talents. Bhubaneswar was ranked top 3 among the top 5 cities in India in terms of sports ecosystem and the ability for hosting mega sports events.
Odisha had a great history of conducting multiple National and International Hockey events. In the year 2014 Hockey Champions Trophy was conducted at Bhubaneswar and in 2015, the Indo-Japan Hockey series was organized in Bhubaneswar, in 2017 Final of the FIH (Fédération Internationale de Hockey) was conducted, and the 2018 Men’s Hockey World Cup was also conducted. And currently, the Odisha government has hosted the 2023 Hockey World Cup in both Kalinga and Birsa Munda stadiums combined. Bhubaneswar along with the sports government of India organized the 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018 Hockey India League National Competitions.
Dilip Tirkey, defender Lazarus Barla, brothers Prabodh, and Ignace Tirkey, and Jyoti Sunita Kullu have come from the tribal belt, from Sundargarh district.
Birsa Munda Stadium is located at Rourkela, Sundargarh district. This stadium is the biggest hockey stadium in the country on basis of seating. The seating capacity is 20,000. Known as the cradle of hockey in India. It was built at the cost of more than rupees 120 crores and will be one of the most modern hockey stadiums in the world. The construction of the Birsa Munda stadium was given to Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDOC).
Same as Indian Premiere League (IPL) for cricket, and for hockey as well we have Hockey India League (HIL) or Coal India Hockey India League. This league is organized by Hockey India which is the governing body of the sport in India. HIL consists of six teams, and it lasts for two months between January and February. Between 2013 to 2015 league was sponsored by Hero so due to sponsorship reasons league was called Hero Hockey India League from 2017 to the present, league is being sponsored by Coal India and so it is called Coal India Hockey India League. The below image shows all the teams that are currently present in HIL.
The League team that represents Odisha is Kalinga Lancers (KAL). The Kalinga Lancers hockey league team was formed in 2016. Kalinga Lancers won the Hockey India League Championship in the year 2017. It is jointly owned by Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO) and Mahanadi Coalfield Limited (MCL). Former Indian captain Dilip Tirkey is the chief mentor and advisor of the team while former Australian field player Marg Hager is the head coach of the team.
Odisha government not only focuses on hockey, but it also focuses on other games too. There are many Odia boys and girls in India’s rugby teams. The current Indian rugby women’s team has seven members from Odisha. In the year 2018, Bhubaneswar became the Asian Rugby 7s hosting city under 18 Girls Championship and in the same year, a major ITF Men’s Futures Tennis event was also organized in Bhubaneswar.
What is the Odisha government doing to support hockey and to develop future athletes?
High-Performance Centers (HPC) are institutions and locations where young people receive world-class training in a variety of sports and facilities, and those who excel there are chosen to represent India in national and international competitions. High-Performance Centers are established with the partnership of public and private bodies. One such performance center is the Odisha Naval Tata Hockey High-Performance Centre (ONTHHPC), this institute is located at Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. This was first launched on 13 August 2019 with the partnership between the Odisha government and Tata Steel & Tata Trusts. Odisha is the first state to have 11 such HPCs training young talent in a variety of sports like hockey, rugby, shooting, swimming, football, weightlifting, athletics, sport climbing, badminton, and sports science. Coaches in these HPCs who train youngsters had a good record in sports. Athletes in HPCs have access to the finest sports infrastructure and allied facilities. The primary focus is on training and programming, recovery, injury prevention, rehabilitation, nutrition, and mental wellness. The trainees who join the HPCs at the age of 13 years for a four-year programme, get a monthly stipend of rupees 1,500. For the players to practice on astro-turf, the Odisha government is constructing 20 hockey training centers at a cost of rupees 200 crores in Sundargarh district. Odisha government provides hostels for athletes which have study rooms, recreation rooms with table tennis tables, and other board games along with TV and access to computers. Odisha government will also be constructing 89 indoor halls in urban centers to facilitate infrastructure for various indoor sports. Seeing all history, we can surely say that the Odisha government has invested a huge amount in the development of hockey sport and the result has been praised by the Federation International de Hockey (FIH) and Indian Olympic Association (IOA). SAI Sundargarh is another high-performance hockey center in Odisha.
Odisha government also collaborated with Xavier Emlyon Business School to start the country’s first Indo-French dual master’s degree programme in Sports Industry Management. Dilip Tirkey says that “by this initiative we can produce good sports industry managers, it will only enrich the whole sports ecosystem”.
What Odisha State Believes in the Future of Sports?
“Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik thinks youth can go forward through sports and how more youngsters can participate in sports. If the young ones can start practicing on astro-turf and get good coaching from the beginning, then we can tap talent early and produce fine players in good quantity”.
“Now, with a hockey center like Rourkela co-hosting the 2023 edition of the world cup, think of the impact it is going to have in that region. Hockey enthusiasts will see international and Indian stars in action with their own eyes. It can inspire many youngsters to take up the sport seriously”, says Tirkey.
The chief minister believes that Odisha and India can create great hockey players and make the country a world champion. He has said on many occasions that “Investment in sports is an investment in youth and investment in youth is an investment in the future“.
Hockey World Cup 2023 Format:
FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup 2023 Results:
The opening ceremony of the 2023 Hockey World Cup took place in Barabati Stadium, Cuttack. The ceremony can be seen below:
Hockey World Cup-2023 song titled ‘Hockey Hai Dil Mera. Click below to listen to complete song:
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