Former Indian Men’s Hockey captain Dilip Tirkey credits Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik for the growth and development of Indian Hockey

Former Indian Men’s Hockey team captain Dilip Tirkey is one of the most humble and loving persons in the Indian hockey fraternity. Currently the chairman of Odisha Hockey Promotion Council, he recently joined the Hockey India podcast Hockey Te Charcha.

There the main topic of discussion was on spread out into different subjects but the primary subject was the Odisha government’s hand and impact on helping the Indian Men’s and Women’s hockey team’s sensational performances at the Tokyo Olympics. He credited the chief minister Naveen Patnaik and hails his passion for hockey in general.

“If we look back at the success of both, the Men’s and Women’s Teams at the Tokyo Olympics, a lot of credit for the performance goes to Shri Naveen Patnaik Ji along with Hockey India and the players. His vision for building one of the best hockey stadiums in the world in Odisha (Kalinga Stadium) dates as far back as 2003, and he has left no stone unturned in turning that vision into reality,” said the former Indian Men’s Hockey captain.

Odisha was the host of the 2018 Hockey World Cup and will once again take preparation as Rourkela and Bhubaneshwar will jointly host the 2023 Hockey World Cup.“Co-hosting the 2023 World Cup in Rourkela is going to have a massive impact on the people in the region as the area is filled with people who love hockey with a passion. The Sundargarh district is the ‘hockey hub of India’, and this event will further inspire young kids to take up hockey on a professional level,” Tirkey added.

Tirkey who holds the highest number of appearances for the Indian Men’s Hockey team with 412 Caps over a 15 year-long International career shared how Indian hockey is changing for the better in recent years.  He said, “Indian Hockey has really changed over the years – not just the game and how players approach it, but also the spectators. Today, after many years, there is excitement among people for hockey. This is the case not just in India, but even abroad.”

India have shown that they can reclaim their position as a hockey superpower. The Men in blue broke the Olympic jinx and won the bronze medal in Tokyo. Whereas the women’s hockey team went down fighting in Tokyo as they ended their campaign in fourth place. Tirkey feels that most of it is because of Naveen Patnaik’s vision and love for the sport.

“To a major extent, I believe we owe this change to the Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri Naveen Patnaik Ji’s vision. A few years ago, it was unimaginable for Bhubaneswar to host an event of such magnitude. Today, people in the city are crazy about hockey, thanks in large part to the World Cup,” Tirkey concluded.