BHUBANESWAR 05-Sep-2013 194
Hockey India today inducted newly-formed Hockey Gangpur (Odisha), a body set up by former international players, as an associate member. HI now has 17 associate members, 27 affiliated members and two state Olympic association members.
With this inclusion, Hockey Gangpur (Odisha) can take part in all the National championships to be conducted by HI in future. Gangpur and its surrounding areas have produced numerous Olympians and international players and now with the entry of Hockey Gangpur (Odisha) in the mainstream, it will help in the further development of sport in the tribal areas.
``Many players including Dilip Tirkey, Ignace Tirkey, Prabodh Tirkey, Michael Kindo, Lazarus Barla and Subhadra Pradhan have played at international level from the Gangpur region and the entry of Hockey Gangpur (Odisha) would play a major role in promoting and developing hockey in the tribal areas of Gangpur,`` HI secretary general Narinder Batra said in a statement.
"We are hopeful that three-time Olympian and former captain Dilip Tirkey who is the president of Hockey Gangpur (Odisha) and its other members who are former international players can help the development of more talent in their region,`` he added.
Dilip Tirkey, a Rajya Sabha member, is the president while Debashish Gouda is the general secretary of Hockey Gangpur (Odisha).
BOON FOR TRIBAL TALENTS: Dilip Tirkey described the recognition of Hockey Gangpur (Odisha) as a boon for the tribal talents of the state and thanked Hockey India for its decision. ``Odisha is well known as a gold mine of tribal hockey talents. But lack of opportunity was a major hurdle for these talents to showcase their potential at national and international level. Hockey Gangpur (Odisha) will fulfil the needs of these neglected talents,`` said Tirkey.
Speaking on the action plan of the new body, Tirkey said: ``Conducting domestic competitions and coaching camps for different age groups and sending teams for national championships will be the major activity.`` He denied that Hockey Gangpur (Odisha) would function as a parallel body to Hockey Odisha, the old affiliated member of Hockey India.
``While submitting our application for associate membership we had given different names, including Hockey Bhubaneswar and Hockey Kalinga. But HI selected Hockey Gangpur (Odisha),`` revealed Tirkey, who is the president of the new body.
Asked to identify the districts which will come under the jurisdiction of Hockey Gangpur (Odisha), Tirkey said this would be decided after discussion with Hockey India. ``Now players from all parts of Odisha can represent Hockey Gangpur in national championships,`` he clarified.
Throwing light on the naming of the new unit, Tirkey said: ``Gangpur was a princely state of India during the period of British Raj. It spread over an area of around 6,500 square kilometres, covering Sundargarh district of Odisha and a portion of Jharkhand. Since most of the hockey players Odisha belong to Sundargarh district, we suggested the name of the body as Hockey Gangpur (Odisha).``
