Hockey Heart Beats & More: Odisha is Redefining Sports in India?

With series of initiatives, Odisha seems to pitch itself as the Sporting Destination of India. Its a huge task, entailing long journey course of which will be joyfully watched by every sports follower in India.  The task of Odisha is topical. Therefore, in our ongoing endeavour to bring the views of news makers to wide audience, we speak to Odisha Govt’s top sports administrator Mr. Vishal Dev, Secretary, Department of Sports & Youth Services – Editor

By TAZEEN QURESHY

As its tourism tagline suggests, Odisha was indeed the ‘Best Kept Secret’ from the world. Located on the eastern coast of India, the state made headlines for its tryst with natural disasters than anything else. Not that Odisha didn’t have its share of sports glory; but it remained fairly subdued and unknown to the rest of the world.

All this, until the Kalinga Lancers team came up. Its a turning point for Odisha’s sporting history. In 2013, when the team first played at the Hockey India League, the venue Kalinga Stadium reverberated with enthusiasm which was never seen before. The stadium was jam-packed, the crowd on its toes cheering, and Bhubaneswar turned into a ‘hockey-loving’ destination almost overnight.

The Odisha administration kindled the newly found interest in sports and thus began Odisha’s journey to becoming the ‘Sports Destination’ of India.

From 2013 onwards, the state has played host to major international tournaments – Hockey Champions Trophy in 2014 to Asian Athletics Championships in 2017; from Rugby Internationals to the 2018 Hockey World Cup. In fact, the state is all set to host the 2023 Hockey World Cup as well, making it the first venue in history to host two World Cups simultaneously.

Today, the state is the primary sponsor of national hockey and rugby teams. It has collaborated with Corporates to establish High Performance Centres in the state for several sports. To put it simply, in less than a decade Odisha has revamped itself as the ‘go-to’ sports destination.

stick2hockey.com caught up with Vishal Dev, Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Department of Sports & Youth Services on the journey and more.

Q: Of late, a lot of sports personalities have been talking about ‘Odisha Sports Model.’ What is this Odisha model of sports?

Vishal Dev: The Odisha model of sports is a triangular model – which involves Government, Corporate and an eminent sports personality. There are two components in it. First is the eminent sports personalities tie up with corporates and establish a High Performance Centre. In this, the Government plays facilitator and investor for infrastructure. The other two provide coaches and soft components. In the second component, Corporates fund and the government provides the land to facilitate the process. Taking hockey as an example, the Odisha Government has developed the infrastructure while the Tata trusts give their coaching support at the Tata Naval Hockey Academy.

s2h: To develop hockey at the grassroot level in Odisha, CM Naveen Patnaik had announced setting up of astro-turfs in all blocks of Sundargarh district, which is considered as the nursery of hockey in the state. It has been two years since the announcement, what is the status of the project?

VD: There was some delay in that because of COVID and finalising certain technical specifications. At the block level, we won’t be hosting international events. The astro-turf won’t be similar to the one we have at Kalinga Stadium as that one requires 30,000 litres of water each day. So, we don’t need a capital-intensive project at the block level. But, we are working on it.

s2h: Besides a functioning Sports Department, Odisha also has a Hockey Promotion Council. What is the role of that body?

VD: Hockey Promotion Council Odisha (HPCO) is an advisory body which is headed by former hockey captain Dilip Tirkey. Their main function is to guide the development of hockey in the state and strengthen the hockey ecosystem.

s2h: Recently, Odisha has made rapid strides in terms of hosting tournaments and promoting hockey. But, there was a time in early 2000s when several names from Odisha featured in the national team. Do you think the development has come a tad bit late?

VD: Players from Punjab have always dominated hockey. Of course, there was a time when we had Dilip Tirkey, Prabodh Tirkey, Ignace and Lajrus Barla in the team. But, what Punjab is to hockey, Odisha should get there. Of course, not because we are sponsor but players should be able to get into the team on the basis of merit. The High Performance Centre is aiming at that.

As a step towards the goal, we are also collaborating with Hockey India which will send its top officials including the national team’s coach to spend time with the young talents at the HPC.

s2h: Even though Sundargarh is the hotbed of hockey, there is less interest in cities like Bhubaneswar, which has hosted some of the major international events including the World Cup. Is there any plan for reviving school hockey in the non-hockey playing cities?

VD: That is something we can work upon. During the World Cup, everyone was excited. So far, hockey is limited to rural areas. It has not been taken up by the middle class and upper class. But, that is true for almost all sports. But, we can work upon this.

s2h: Odisha will be the first venue to host two simultaneous hockey World Cup. What can we expect this time, given the response in 2018 was positive?

VD: Well, this time one of the venues is Rourkela, which is the hotbed of hockey. It will be difficult to beat the standard that we only had created. I think we can look at improving the facilities and infrastructure. We will discuss with the teams and FIH and work upon their feedback.

s2h: With the ongoing pandemic, do you think it will be difficult to revive the interest in sports?

VD: I don’t think it will be difficult. Yes, sports activities have come to a standstill. But as things improve, I don’t foresee any problems. The synergy is existing, we just need to build upon that. In terms of allocations, we will see cuts. But we know our priorities and the things that can be deferred. World Cup is a priority, so there will be no problem in hosting it. The general infrastructure across the state might slow down. But the international tournaments will be held as per the plan.