Jerina Tirkey, Dipika Tappo, Asha Kerketa and Anita Kerketa

are among several girls from the villages of Sounamara,

Tileikani and Lulkidihi in Odishas Sundargarh district, who
share a dream they all want to play hockey professionally
and represent India internationally just like Dillip Tirkey,
Lazarus Barla, Subhadra Pradhan, Jyoti Sunita Kullu and
Binita Tappo have done in the past. All these national stars
belong to this region, which is informally known as the
hockey district of the state.

Every morning, it is common to see teenage girls and boys

troop out of their homes with a heavy bag on their back, a
stick in their hand and a spring in their step. They are all
heading to the local government school where, besides
attending class, they get an opportunity to do their
favourite activity of the day play a competitive game of
hockey.

Chulu Barla, a former sarpanch of Sounamara, who loves

playing the game himself, points out, Today, Sundargarh is
famous nationally and internationally, as it has produced
some great hockey talent. You name any player from
Odisha and s/he can trace their roots back to this region. In
the rural areas particularly, everyone is at home on the
hockey field. What I love about the game is the fact that we
can all play it freestyle and its thoroughly enjoyable.

But how did Sundergarh, a predominantly tribal district in

western Odisha, which shares its borders with
Chhattisgarh, become such a hotspot for hockey talent?

Though no one really knows when we started playing the

game in these parts our elders have told us that they
picked it up from the Christian missionaries, who had come
to our villages several generations back, shares Chulu.
Traditionally, the non-cultivating months from October to
December make up the playing season, which is when
tournaments are held regularly and hundreds of village
teams take part enthusiastically.

The biggest event is the Khasi Cup under which a series of

games are held and the winning team is rewarded with a
goat, which is used to prepare the victory feast that is
shared by everyone. The Khasi Cup doesnt have any set
rules of play and each team can have anywhere between
12 to 15 players. The idea is to have fun, elaborates
Chulu.

Of course, from this un-coached, freestyle way of playing

have emerged several top stars of the game. In fact, talent
scouts from both the Sports Authority of India (SAI) facility
at Sundergarh district headquarters and the Panposh
District Sports Hostel see these villages as the training
grounds for the legends of the future.

Dilip Tirkey, former Indian hockey captain, iconic defender

and presently a Rajya Sabha MP from Sundergarh, is a hero
for all budding players. In 1989, when SAI coaches had
picked him from a group of hopefuls, no one had imagined
that this boy from Sounamara would make history.

When Dillips first international match was shown on

television we had only two sets in our village. The telecast
timing was an unearthly 3 am but still almost everyone in
the village had stayed up and watched the game. When the
team won we were cheering the loudest, recalls Fransis
Lakra, Tirkeys childhood friend.

Like Tirkey, Subhadra Pradhan, who plays for the womens

team, is another local hockey icon, idolised by girls and
boys alike. Her father, Shyamsunder Pradhan, recalls the
day she was selected, Every year, coaches from the
district headquarters come to our village and organise
matches to select upcoming players. My daughter was in
Class Five when her talent on the field was noticed. As her
father I feel proud when she dons the national teams
jersey these days.

According to Father Isidore Kindo of Jagatmata Church in

Sounamara, tribals do not really believe in gender
discrimination. Most parents do not see their daughters as
any less talented than their sons. So the support that girls
receive is equal. And even when it comes to coaching
opportunities or selection matches for a place in the state
or national team, the elders root for both sexes, he says.

After all, both girls and boys are making India proud. Says
Selvesta Minz, a former hockey player, We have a long
line of female players like Subhadra Pradhan, Jyoti Sunita
Kullu and Binita Tappo to look up to. Apart from these, there
are younger players such as Anjana Dhurwa, Basanti Lakra
and Rinakanti Ekka, who have made a mark in the national
team. Currently, there are several avenues for girls to show
off their aptitude for the game.

Asha Kerketa, who is studying in Class Six, is confident that

she has a bright future in hockey. She fervently dreams of
gaining admission into the SAI Sports Hostel, where
legends are nurtured. On a personal level, I am prepared
to work hard and sweat it out on the field to practice and
become good enough to play for the state and even the
country, remarks the youngster.

On his part, Tirkey is doing his bit to give back to his

people. In 2013, he organised the Gramin Olympiad Hockey
Tournament in the district where a whopping 800 teams
took part. The idea of organising a village level
tournament was to give the budding talent a platform to
compete, boost their confidence and get an understanding
of the rules and regulations of hockey so that in the future
they can easily get adapted into the formal style, he
explains.

In addition to this, Tirkey has plans to provide sports

equipment and an Astroturf ground at the village level itself
to give more children a jumpstart into the big league. We
are in talks with different business houses to encourage
them to generously extend their helping hand for the
promotion of hockey in this belt so that our children can get
good quality training from the national level coaches, he
says.

If things go as planned, theres nothing to stop girls like

Asha, Jerina, Deepika and others from ruling the Astroturf in
the times to come. - Women's Feature Service

n the post-Dhyan Chand era, Sundargarh is synonymous with hockey and has
continued to fetch sporting glory for India in the international sports arena. The tribal-
dominated district of Odisha has proven its claim by producing around 50 junior and
senior international players in both the men and women segments. Even, three to
four players from here have already represented the national team at a time.

But, it is a pity that India, despite being the host of the World Cup, no one from the
State was given a berth in the Indian team. However, the fans here do not fume as
they are well-aware that, except Roshan Minz, all the State probables were down
with injuries. Notwithstanding that, the miserable performance of the Indian hockey
team in the World Cup 2010 has hurt the sports lovers though India could manage to
obtain the eighth rank.

History reveals that hockey was introduced to Odisha by the Christian missionaries.
Providentially, hockey that was started as a recreation, turned out to be a love affair
for the tribal inhabitants who are noted to be gifted athletes here.

Passion for hockey was so deep that even shaky ground, bamboo sticks and cotton
balls could not dissuade the tribals from producing extra-ordinary talents. Inter-
village and intra-district tourneys brought talents to the fore and successful players
and teams were encouraged by being rewarded kukuda (cock) and khasi (goat) as
prizes.

Moreover, revamping started with the setting-up of hockey hostels and astro turfs by
the Government in the mid-eighties. Trained youngsters proved their mettle in the
national level tournaments. Among the talented players from the district are Dilip
Tirkey, Lazarus Barla, Ignace Tirkey, Prabodh Tirkey, Peter Tirkey, William Xalxo,
Roshan Minz, Amardeep Ekka, Birendra Ekka, Jyoti Sunita Kullu, Subhadra
Pradhan, Anupa and Binita who have played in almost all major senior and junior
global championships.

Dilip is now the highest-capped international player. He along with Ignace, Probodh
and Kullu have led India and among the four, while three have been conferred with
Arjuna Awards, two Padmashri.

Besides, creating a medium for expression of sporting dexterity, hockey has proved
to be a dignified profession, providing employment to more than 1,000 young people
across the country. Thanks to a century-old relationship with hockey, Odisha is now
reckoned as a leading State in the game and is possessing decent infrastructure with
three astro turfs (two in Rourkela including one of the SAIL and one in Sundargarh),
three Government-run training centres (hostels at Rourkela, Sundargarh and
Cuttack), one SAIL managed training centre at Rourkela and more than 500 trained
players.

Able management is the need of the hour for further improvement of the game.
Observers believe that Odisha Hockey Association should pilot in taking the game to
more youngsters by organising more domestic tournaments. The efforts should be
given to host both the national and international tournaments here as three well-
equipped grounds are available in Sundargarh district.

Hockey aficionados also seek engagement of more coaches and trainers for proper
guidance of youngsters and refresher courses for coaches to keep them well-run
with the latest trends in the game.

But, what everyone urges to be done first is the completion of the State Hockey
Academy at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar without further delay.
Simultaneously, steps should be paced up for setting up a Sports University with
speciality on Hockey in Sundargarh district. Otherwise, the Mecca of hockey may
soon turn to be a barren place, sports observers here apprehend.
The Authority is desirous of promoting the development of sports
infrastructure in the State of Uttar Pradesh, with a view to enable
the growth of sports in the State. In order to enable more efficient
use of public resources, the Authority has taken the decision to
support the development of sports infrastructure in the State
through public-private-partnership (PPP) route. The Authority has
decided to structure the project for development of sports
infrastructure by associating them with related real estate
development, in order to ensure their viability on a standalone basis
and to attract private investment in development of sports
infrastructure.