Having been conferred with the Arjuna award after a frustrating wait, Indian hockey player Tirkey was given a rousing reception at MEG with an open jeep cavalcade to honour his achievements I’m very happy. I have been waiting for the award for the past five years. Now I feel my hard work has got the recogni tion it deserved. I’m overwhelmed by the reception I have received here.

c
Cries of “Subedar Ignace Tirkey ji ki jai” echoed along the vast expanse of the serene Madras Engineering Group premises on Monday afternoon.
The normally reticent military faces wore a broad smile as they cheered Indian hockey player Ignace Tirkey, who was conferred the Arjuna award on Saturday.

Cutting across ranks, the MEG men gathered in large numbers as they welcomed their home grown hero. Dressed in a blue jeans and the maroon Arjuna award blazer, the 28-year-old was taken around in an open jeep from the main gate.

He was later felicitated by a host of officers, fellow MEG team players, his coach Gopichand and Karnataka State Hockey Association secretary, K.
Krishnamurthy.

The youngster, who hails from the Sundargarh district in Orissa, but is based in Bengaluru with the MEG, basked in the attention and happily posed for photographs.

Showering praise on Tirkey, Col.
Sachdeva, his commanding officer said, “It is a very proud moment for us to see him with the Arjuna award today. He’s always been a very hardworking and sincere player. But what strikes me most about Ignace is his down-to-earth attitude, which did not change even after he became an Olympian in 2004.”

An elated Tirkey, who starred in India’s victory over Pakistan at the 2004 Asia Cup said, “I’m very happy. I have been waiting for the award for the past five years. Now I feel my hard work has got the recognition it deserved. I’m overwhelmed by the reception I have received here. It feels great to share the moment with people who have made it possible.” On being conferred the award after a long wait Tirkey said, “I had actually lost hope and didn’t think I would make it this year.
Every time I missed the bus, I would feel frustrated, disappointed and angry. Instead of dwelling in self- pity, I channelised all the frustration into working harder. I guess it is my undying passion for the sport that kept me going.”

Tirkey was a part of the Indian team which toured Europe last month.

Speaking about the lessons learnt from the European Tour, the Olympian said. “The European tour was a great learning experience. The most important lesson we learnt there was playing manto-man hockey. The fact that every player has to be prepared to play in any position will help the cause of Indian hockey in the long run.”

Tirkey will take a short break, before joining the camp in Pune from September 6.