How relieving it is to witness hockey coming back and occupying centrestage as the game of the nation after nearly four decades of cricket drudgery! The sensible people of India are sighing in great relief that the uncontrollable cricket has been contained for the first time on record. Cricket came with television to India and killed all ethnic and popular games, particularly those that kept human bodies fit and fine. The cricket racket also conspired further to turn the boring ‘test thing’ into limited 50-overs and later 20-overs matches with the sole view to remaining fit for fast and decisive game lovers. Around this time, soccer, volleyball and the most beloved hockey were maimed so badly that recovery was almost impossible. South Asians became ill with cricket fever; and all cricket players who scored runs and took wickets impressively turned billionaires. A young Indian cricket boy who entertained less than Mehmood or Raj Kapoor mesmerised the politicians so badly that they modified the Bharat Ratna award recipient selection criterion and parameters to dump one on him. Thus, the most coveted Ratna lost its value and the billionaire cricketer picked more millions from endorsement jobs, an act which disqualifies a candidate for the Ratna.
Hockey used to be greatest of all games in India. British India was the unchallenged world champion for long. Even after Independence India maintained its supremacy. But hockey control having gone to European and other foreign locales and the added ‘woe of cricket’ jointly wiped out hockey from the Indian soil for good. Thus, when hockey was lying in ICU grasping for the last few breaths, the culturally-rich State of Odisha emerged as the saviour of the great game played across ninety minutes of incredible excitement and awe.
Today it’s said that kids of tribal regions in western Odisha are born with hockey sticks in hand. India had reigned supreme on the global hockey field for long with massive wins, record goals against contenders; and the rise of numerous wizards like Dhyanchand, on whose birthday on August 29 India celebrates the National Sports Day.
History reveals that hockey was introduced to Odisha by Christian missionaries. Providentially, hockey that was started as a recreation turned out to be a love affair for the tribal inhabitants who are gifted athletes here from birth. Passion for hockey was so deep in this region of Odisha that even on bumpy, uneven grounds kids played the game passionately, brittle bamboo sticks in hand and only cotton balls rolling. Yet many tribal youths have become extraordinary players, stunning formidable opponents and curious spectators alike. Inter-illage and intra-district tournaments identified hidden talents among these tribal players who would win matches to take home only castrated goats and cocks for prizes. By now, as many as sixty hockey players, including eleven in the national team, are from the tribal Sundargarh district. Lulkidihi village is one of the big breeding grounds for hockey players. Saunamara is yet another which has gifted DilipTirkey to the Indian team.
“Hockey in Odisha is more than a sport; it’s a way of life, especially in tribal regions,” Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said during an event in New Delhi where it was announced that Odisha would sponsor the national men's and women's hockey teams for the next five years.
Patnaik felt this deal with Hockey India is the State's 'gift to the nation' keeping in mind how Odisha has been glorified by virtue of this game. However, the State might have already presented a bigger gift to the nation in the form of hockey wizards like DilipTirkey, Ignace Tirkey, Birendra Lakra, Lazarus Barla, to name a few.
Back in 2014, Odisha became the only State to own a team in Hockey India League (HIL) when Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation and Mahanadi Coalfield Limited combined to form the‘Kalinga Lancers’. The idea back then was to give exposure to the best Indian and foreign talents. This single step not only gave a platform to youngsters like Dipsan Tirkey but also brought the crowd to the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.
There has been no looking back ever since. Odisha bade and successfully hosted the Men’s Hockey Champions Trophy in 2014 and the Men’s Hockey World League Final in 2017. The hockey fraternity and the global sports experts were unanimous about the fabulous stadium and the grandest of arrangements for the comfort of all involved. The infrastructure, the logistics and the unmatchable hospitality along with the world-class facilities of stay, transport and backend support and orderliness were amazingly incomparable, better than most locations could ever afford in the developed and affluent societies on the planet.
Not surprisingly, Odisha was chosen as the hosts for the 2018 Hockey Men’s World Cup sponsored by the State Government.
That is when the State’s sports authorities decided to take the next step. As Sahara’s contract with the Hockey India was terminated, the Odisha outfit stepped in.
The only motive was to restore Indian hockey’s lost glory as explained by Vishal Dev, the wonder sports administrator of Odisha with an absolutely clear vision of what would work out best to achieve the cherished goals of putting hockey on top in India. Even hockey-strong States like Punjab have not dared promote the game like Odisha has.
Punjab has the works at hand -- facilities and money to spare. But the will of the people and the government is rather weak. They too have been lost in the cricket tsunami. One Siddhu is good enough for the modern-day Punjab!
What is most inspiring about Odisha is the fact that hockey is not the last word in sports.
The Chief Minister has made it express that all other sports, both in vogue and lost, shall be promoted with equal vigour and effort. Bhubaneswar is already the de facto sports capital of India as per the popular national media. In the past, Odisha had lost many promising sports deals because of the lack of commitment and farsightedness. But now, the commitment of the State administration to promote sports has hit an all-time high.
“Every kid in the tribal districts of Odisha plays hockey. We grew up loving this game; and it gives me immense pride to even think about the fact that my State is sponsoring my country,” says 19-year-old Dipsan, who is the latest entrant from Odisha to the senior team. When the entire country is joyously applauding Odisha’s initiative, the State Government is seriously busy chalking out its next plan to grab bigger glory for the country.
A national-level hockey academy will be built in Bhubaneswar in collaboration with the Hockey India. In all likelihood, the Sports Authority of India will come on the board. Vishal Dev, by now known as a ‘wonder administrator’, who works on a countdown mode once a project is on the anvil, says, “We do not lose sleep or appetite over projects. Our planning and blueprints are made robustly failsafe and highly implementable. Once we set the ball rolling, everything goes on the auto-mode. We use technology to the hilt and make sure that the officials on the job remain alert and watchful to ensure that time schedules and quality are just not compromised in the least.” Incidentally, a top school engineer Vishal is also an IIM alumnus who is never in a hurry but invariably on the lookout for perfect time schedules like they do for the bullet train in Japan.
What one feels great about is that even the once-rabidly cricket-crazy young people of India are talking, dreaming and craving to watch hockey by grabbing a ticket, no matter at what cost.
To be at the Kaling Stadium, the globally-known hockey venue like the Wembley is for lawn tennis, the people can go to any extent. They want to watch hockey live and cheer up the stars. Thus, hockey is back in the hearts of the Asians, which is a miracle by itself! It was believed decades ago that hockey was dead or permanently in the ICU grasping for the breath. Dhyanchand’s soul should be smiling in heaven, for sure!