BHUBANESWAR: Former India hockey captain Dilip Tirkey has been unanimously appointed chairman of the newly-formed adhoc committee to manage the sport in Odisha. The decision was taken during the committee's first meeting held virtually on Friday.
The adhoc committee will manage the operations and promotion of hockey across the state and ensure the betterment of players. Other members of the Committee are Adhip Das, representative of Odisha Olympic Association, Bhola Nath, vice-president, Hockey India, Shailendra Jena, Deputy Secretary, Sports, and Youth Services Government of Odisha as Member Convener and Rajendra Pani, Under Secretary, Sports, and Youth Services Department.
Currently, Tirkey is the chairman of Odisha Hockey Promotion Council, and is closely involved in the development of grassroots programmes and infrastructure and producing more internationals from Odisha.
In the meeting, Adhip Das said, “Today, Odisha is synonym with hockey but there is more to achieve. With a veteran as the chair of the committee, we are optimistic about the overall growth of hockey in Odisha. I congratulate him on this new role.”
"Odisha has been a cradle for hockey in India. Efforts will be put in to develop hockey in all districts of the state. With the continued support of the Odisha state government and all stakeholders, we will take the sport of hockey to the next level in the state", said Bhola Nath.
Speaking on the occasion, Tirkey hoped the state will nurture more players in the future. “This is a huge privilege and I am deeply honoured. This is an opportunity for the committee to take immediate and necessary action for securing the interest of hockey players of Odisha across different age categories and simultaneously, handle the management of district Hockey Associations.
"Today, three hockey players from Odisha have been selected to the Indian national hockey teams for Tokyo 2020 Olympics. In the coming years, we will work towards nurturing more players from the state.”