Gone are the days of Punjab’s stranglehold on Indian hockey. Sansarpur is a village of yore, but Orissa’s Sundargarh district is now the national game’s hotbed.
“The ball is relayed from a Singh to a Singh to a Singh,” was the famous description of a foreign journalist when India were ruling world hockey.
The sentence has to be tweaked a little now as Tirkeys, Ekkas and Kullus dominate national team roster. India, admittedly, have fallen by the wayside in recent decades but Orissa’s passionate tribal belt is offering some hope for the future.
Failures are common in sports. India can live with its lowly position in world hockey. The harshly reality is that we were not good enough to make it to the Beijing Olympics. But the mess that has engulfed hockey administration in the country is seriously threatening to snap Orissa’s famous assembly line. With no sign of a new body taking over the reins of the Indian Hockey Federation, youngsters at Rourkela’s Panposh sports hostel are worried about their future.
K.C. Choudhury, a coach at the hostel, says: “We have more than 150 boys and girls in three categories (nursery, hostel and centre of excellence). Most of them are from Sundargarh district. Our players have their fingers crossed now because they have no clue about the conduct of junior nationals. If there are no nationals as a result of the problems in the IHF, where can our boys get exposure? Only national participation can get our juniors jobs. Most of our inmates are poor. They need jobs to continue playing hockey. I’m having a difficult time to motivate my boys.”
The MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup in the city has come as a boon for the Orissa boys. Choudhury says he is glad that his team has got an opportunity to play.
The coach says the national game is alive and kicking in Orissa. “You have to see to believe Sundargarh’s passion for hockey. Every village has a competition in which live goats are given away as prizes. Even established players such as Dilip Tirkey and Ignace Tirkey participate in village events during their holidays. Dilip is a big inspiration for our youngsters. Whenever Dilip comes home, he makes it a point to gift sticks and balls to players in his village,” he informs.
All national teams cutting across age groups have Orissa players in good numbers nowadays. Choudhary informs that the Indian junior team that won the Asia Cup in Hyderabad recently had three Orissa boys. “In our state-sponsored exclusive hockey academy, special care is given to nurture future stars, both boys and girls. We have a world-class gym apart from a good collection of CDs of international matches.”
All is well with the Orissa production line but the problem is with the administration of the game. Ousted KPS Gill is plotting his comeback; IOA president Suresh Kalmadi is giving empty promises and the ad-hoc IHF committee is in a shambles. Then, what is the hope for the young guns of Orissa?