Hockey magician Dhyan Chand once hailed Sansarpur, a small village in the Jalandhar district of Punjab, as the ‘Mecca of Indian Hockey’ as it had produced 14 Olympic hockey players over the years. That now seems to have shifted east. The tribal hinterland of Sundargarh district in Odisha is now the ‘New Mecca of Indian Hockey.’ It has so far produced nine players who have represented the country in the Olympics and more than 60 players who have excelled at the sub-junior, junior and senior levels internationally. Sundargarh is now considered the supply line of Odisha hockey. The district has produced many women players too who made it to the Indian women’s hockey team. This apart, the game has played a big role in creating job opportunities in the district. Hundreds of players have got jobs in the Indian Army, para-military forces, police, railway, banks and other government and non-government sectors.
Interestingly, all the international players that Sundargarh has produced are from the tribal community. Experts often struggle to find the reason as to how this region has turned to be a fertile nursery of Indian hockey.
A way of life
A visit to the tribal pockets of Sundargarh reveals that hockey here is not a sport but a tradition. It is part and parcel of the life, dreams and culture of the tribals. People here celebrate a hockey match like a festival. The participation of more than a hundred teams in a rural tournament is very common. People of all age groups can be seen playing field hockey. Thousands of people from nearby villages throng the field to see hockey matches. The kids here live for hockey. “The atmosphere is such that children here can’t think of anything other than hockey.
From a very young age, a kid sees his father and his siblings playing hockey. So, naturally he is drawn towards the sport,” said coach Amulya Bihari. Besides, a hockey player gets a lot of job opportunities. After playing at a certain level, the players can look forward to jobs in government departments, PSUs and non-government agencies, he added. Even today, youngsters in the villages reportedly make their own hockey sticks by bending a kendu branch or a bamboo shoot. There is a saying in the region that an eligible groom is judged not by the number of farm animals he owns but by the goals he scores in a hockey match.
Hockey takes root
No one is sure when and how hockey was ingrained into the DNA of the tribals. It is said that Christian missionaries introduced the game in the middle of the19th century. When the church set up schools, they included hockey as an extracurricular activity. No wonder, most of the players here belong to the Christian community. Until a few years back when kids went for admission to missionary schools, they had to take their hockey sticks along, said a resident of Saunamara village, home to former Indian hockey captain Dilip Tirkey.
Goat Cup
Incredible as it may seem, the winning hockey teams in Sundargarh don’t get a cup, shield or cash as prize. Instead, they are awarded a khasi (male goat) or wild cock. Many players from Sundargarh who have represented the country at the international level are the products of this Khasi or Goat Cup, says former Indian hockey captain Prabodh Tirkey. Besides, family tournaments are also held, and people lock their houses and throng the grounds to witness these matches.
Kindo makes a difference
The Indian hockey team won the first gold medal at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics and Jaypalsingh Munda, a tribal of Ranchi (now in Jharkhand), was part of that victorious team. Since then, tribals have regularly featured in the Indian hockey team.
However, the youth of Sundargarh had to wait a little to establish themselves at the international level. Though there was no dearth of talent in the region, they couldn’t be properly trained due to lack of government patronage.
It is said that the graph rose for hockey in Odisha after 1977. Michael Kindo, a native of Jharkhand and member of the World Cup winning Indian team of 1975, joined Rourkela Steel plant in 1977. His presence lifted the morale of the local hockey players. Under his guidance, Odisha made its presence felt at the national level by qualifying for the semi-final stage in 1979. The state team repeated the feat the following year which was noticed by the national selectors.
Meanwhile, Odisha became the national rural hockey champion in 1982. The same year, a budding hockey player Peter Tirkey bagged a place in the national junior team and got an opportunity to play the junior World Cup. Tirkey’s success encouraged many young people to dream big. The state government also started talent scouting and set up sports hostels for proper training. The establishment of the Panposh sports hostel near Rourkela in 1985 was part of that strategy. Encouraged by its success, the Sports Authority of India and Steel Authority of India Limited set up hockey academies in Sundargarh and Rourkela in 1992. At present, apart from these hostels, the Indian Hockey Federation and the state government have set up a training centre in Sundargarh.
Hockey hotspot
According to experts, one reason Sundargarh has excelled in the sport is that the people of 36 tribal communities that form the district possess the build and temperament that is required for success in the game. A local coach in Lukidihi village pointed out that people here are the descendants of ancient hunter-gatherers. They have the stamina, eyesight and patience required to do well in the game. In hockey, the sharper the eyesight the better, he added.
A local hockey enthusiast said that tribals are short, but they have strong legs and can stay bent over a stick for hours.
Hockey Gangpur general secretary Debashis Gouda believes that hockey is a power game that needs lot of stamina. It is believed that the high calcium percentage in the soil strengthens the bones of the people in the area.
A tool to combat LWE
In the year 2003, Sundargarh Superintendent of Police YK Jethwa used hockey to thwart the increasing menace of left wing extremism (LWE) in the region. There were a spate of incidents including the razing of forest rest houses, robbing of trucks, and looting of explosives on the national highway that were allegedly instigated by the Maoists. Jethwa, who wanted to win back the trust of the tribal people, used hockey as a weapon. The administration held several Khasi tournaments and health camps in some areas of Bisra and K Bolang and asked youths to shun the path of violence. It proved effective.
Unsung heroes
Needless to say, coaches always play an important role in grooming budding talents. They leave no stone unturned to build up the career of their protégés. The names of some of the prominent coaches who were instrumental in mentoring many top hockey stars include Sylvester Toppo, Amulyananda Bihari, Milton Billung, Kalucharana Choudhury, Bijay Lakda, Amulya Behera, PV Patel, Tejkumar Khes, Ajay Kumar Bansal, and Foresha Ekka.
Brothers in arms
Two Odias – Amit Rohidas and Birendra Lakra – have got the opportunity to represent India in the present World Cup. The distinction of siblings playing in a World Cup goes to two other players of Sundargarh, Prabodh and Ignace Tirkey, who played in the World Cup held at Moenchengladbach, Germany in 2006. The Tirkeys were also part of the winning team in the 2001 Junior World Cup when India won the final decisively, beating Argentina 6-1. Ignace, with more than 250 international appearances under his belt, was conferred the Arjuna Award in 2009 and Padmashri in 2010 for his contribution to Indian hockey.
Prabodh carried forward the legacy of his elder brother Ignace and went on to become the captain of the Indian team. He had earlier captained the India sub-junior and India A team. He has represented the country in more than 150 international matches. Describing the experience of playing a World Cup as extraordinary, the siblings said the Odisha World Cup Hockey-2018 will take the game to another level in the state.
Emergence of Hockey Gangpur
Odisha is the only state which has two teams participating at the national level. They are Hockey Odisha and Hockey Gangpur Odisha. The emergence of Hockey Gangpur has been one of the most significant developments in the sporting history of the state. A large number of players, who were not able to get a chance in the state team, came together and now play under the banner of Hockey Gangpur Odisha, a member of Hockey India.
Golden days ahead
As Odisha is the official sponsor for the men’s and women’s national hockey teams, and CM Naveen Patnaik a huge hockey promoter, the government has decided to lay astro turfs in all the blocks in Sundargarh district. The decision has been taken in recognition of the district’s contribution to Indian hockey, the CM said. Hailing the district as the cradle of hockey, the CM said, “Probably, Sundargarh will be the district with the largest number of astro turfs in the country. And it will continue to produce world class players who will play for the country.”
They say…
World Cup Hockey in Odisha was not even in my dreams. The way it is being promoted the event will certainly have a place in the annals of hockey. The craze for the game has also increased in Sundargarh as more than 25,000 sports lovers turned up to watch a match held in Rourkela between Odisha Eleven and New South Wales Eleven of Australia – Dilip Tirkey, former captain and ex-Rajya Sabha Member
It is matter of pride for me to perform on home ground. We will concentrate only on league matches. As ours is a balanced unit equipped with good defenders, we hope to put up a good show – Amit Rohidas, defender, Indian hockey team
I consider myself fortunate to be in a World Cup squad for the second time. I aim to perform well to make this World Cup a memorable one. The team has the right combination of experience and youth. All the players are fit and raring to go – Birendra Lakra, senior defender, Indian hockey team.
Coach Toppo says…
Asked why Sundargarh district produces so many hockey players of international standard, Sylvester Toppo, an award-winning coach of Panposh sports hostel, said there is an abundance of talent across the state. But there is a need to change people’s mentality. They still think that hockey is a game of adivasis. The state will start producing more international players once this perception is changed. Toppo thanked the state government for promoting the game in letter and spirit. However, he said the number of hockey coaches should be increased as more coaches were needed to train upcoming talents and a hockey nursery should be set up to promote the game further.
Olympians from Sundargarh
Dilip Tirkey
Ignace Tirkey
Lazarus Barla
Birendra Lakra
William Xalxo
Deep Grace Ekka
Namita Toppo
Sunita Lakra
Lilima Minz
World Cup Heroes
Dilip Tirkey – 1998 (Utrecht, Netherlands), 2002 (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), 2006 (Moenchengladbach, Germany)
Lazarus Barla – 1998 (Utrecht, Netherlands), 2002 (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
Ignace Tirkey – 2002 (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), 2006 (Moenchengladbach, Germany)
Prabodh Tirkey – 2006 (Moenchengladbach, Germany)
Birendra Lakra – 2014 (The Hague, Netherlands)
Hockey Chowk
With nearly 70 players from Sundargarh district representing the country at various levels, an intersection near Panposh area in Rourkela has been named ‘Hockey Chhak’ to recognise the contribution of the players to the game. It is perhaps the first time in the country that players have been honoured in such a manner. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurated the Chhak June 20, 2005. The event hogged newspaper headlines in the state. The names of 23 hockey players, who had represented the country before 2005, have been inscribed on a stone pillar that has been installed at the intersection. Though about 45 more players have featured in the sub-junior, junior, and senior levels after that, their names have not yet been added.
Eyes on the Biru-Amit pair
There is no doubt that the staging of the Hockey World Cup-2018 at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar has put Odisha on the global map. But the eyes of all the hockey fans in the state are on Birendra Lakra and Amit Rohidas from Odisha who are part of the Indian team. While this will be second time that Birendra is part of a World Cup team, Amit make his World Cup debut. Birendra has 168 international appearances to his credit, while Amit has appeared in 69 international matches in five years.
Birendra, who shone at the national level at the age of 14 in 2004, has played in the Youth Olympics and junior World Cup in 2009, SAF games in 2010 and the Champions Challenge Cup in 2011. Among the memorable moments in Birendra’s career are India qualifying for the semi-final in the Champion’s Trophy 2012, winning the gold medal in Asian Games-2014, and the silver medal in the World Hockey League-2015.
On the other hand, Amit made his debut as an international player in 2013 in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup. He was a member of the victorious Asia Cup team of 2013 and has been a regular member of the senior team after playing the Junior World Cup in Delhi in 2013. Amit cemented his place in the team with his defending ability and drag flicks. Among the memorable tournaments that he has been part of are the Asia Cup 2017, where the team won the gold medal, and the Champions Trophy-2018, where it got the silver medal.
BIJAY MANDAL, OP
