Hockey fever has gripped the Temple City of Bhubaneswar which is gearing up to host its biggest ever sporting spectacle — Odisha Men’s Hockey World Cup — at the glittering and resplendent Kalinga Hockey Complex.The World Cup had never witnessed such frenzy and glamour in its previous 13 versions either in Europe or Asia. The game has come of age and in this part of the world, the crowd response, fan participation and common citizen’s positive approach to the build-up events bear testimony to the rising popularity of the game. For a change, the focus has shifted from cricket to hockey, a rare phenomenon in this cricket-obsessed country.
Origin of the word “hockey” remains unknown. One supposition is that it is a derivative of hoquet, a French word for ‘shepherd’s crook’ or ‘shepherd’s stave.’ The curved or ‘hooked” end of the hockey stick would indeed have resembled these staves. This description fits in perfectly to the hockey sticks made of bamboo and jungle wood which are abundantly used by the tribal children of Sundargarh district to pursue their passion.
Hockey is what they harbour from adolescence to grave. Such unbounded passion was transferred into the game of hockey played in any available plain land (ground) be it grass or dusty weathered tops. For thousands of young players, scantily clad, often bare-footed with improvised sticks made out of forest wood, the winner’s prize — a goat or a chicken — is more valued than any glittering trophy. A Belgian missionary is believed to have introduced hockey among the tribals of Ranchi, Chotanagpur and Gangpur State (now Sundargarh) in early 20th century. The natural environment and instinctive flair of the tribals made “hockey” their lifeline. It became an integral part of their culture.
But these talented youngsters learning intricacies of the game in their own backyard and mastering the nuances with hard work had to wait until the mid 90s when a strapping young lad called Dilip Tirkey from a remote tiny hamlet Saunamara under Balisankara block of Sundargarh district appeared on the hockey horizon and made his international debut in the 8th Indira Gandhi Gold Cup at New Delhi in 1995.
A star was born and the legend of Dilip Tirkey grew from strength to strength till he retired in May 2010 after an illustrious career including 412 international matches (then World Record), 3 Olympics, 3 World Cups, 3 Asian Games apart from personal honours like Padmashree, Arjuna Award and many others. With Dilip’s meteoric rise, the little known village ‘Saunamara’ became a major attraction. With the passage of time and new stars emerging from this region, Indian hockey was to witness a shift from North to East, from Punjab (Jalandhar) to Odisha (Sundargarh).
In the golden days of 1950s, when Indian teams were Olympic champs and the most dominant force in world hockey, Sansarpur with a population of 4,000 plus was home to 14 players who represented India, Kenya and Canada between 1932 to 1975 in Olympics and World Cups. But unfortunately, from mid-70s, talent pool of this village dried up and once the most talked about village passed into oblivion.
Fortunately, from 90s onwards, the neglected tribal dominated regions of Western Odisha became a force to be reckoned with after the emergence of Dilip. Even though, earlier the legendary full-back Michael Kindo from Jharkhand along with Gopal Bhengra, Monohar Topno and Sylvanus Dung Dung had donned national colours, yet there was no regular flow of hockey talents to Indian teams from this region, particularly from Sundargarh. Probably, the vast reservoir of talent was waiting in the wings for a role model. After being inspired by Dilip, they flooded the national hockey scene.
Saunamara was proud home to Lazarus Barla (Olympian), Subhadra Pradhan (former captain), Amit Rohidas (current India player), Dipsan Tirkey (vice-captain of world champion junior team). From another village Lulkidihi came brothers Ignace (Olympian) and Prabodh Tirkey (former captain) and the list goes on. This region boasts of at least 22 world-class players. It is heartening to know that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik recently announced that all the block headquarters of Sundargarh shall be provided with synthetic turfs. A brighter future awaits Odisha Hockey.
The writer is a former sports administrator