Bhubaneswar: In the finals of the first Odisha Naval Tata Hockey Grassroot League played today evening at the Kalinga Hockey Complex at Bhubnaeswar, Majhapara Team and SubdegaTeam won the finals in the Girls and Boys categories respectively. In the Girls finals, Majhapara beat Alanda by 2–0 while in the Boys finals Subdega beat Majhapara by 2–0.
In the Girls category, Puja Majhi of Majhapara was adjuged the player of the finals for her spectacular performance and Ankita Kerketta was adjudged the best Girls goal keeper of the tournament.
Similarly in the Boys category, Ankit Minz of Subdega was adjuged the player of the finals for his impressive performance and Dilshan Dung Dung was adjudged the best Boys goal keeper of the tournament.
Earlier in the day, the 3rd and 4th placed teams in both categories played for the Bronze Medals. In the Girls category, Kadobahal beat Nuagaon by 4-3 while in the Boys category Purnapani beat Kadobahal by 4-2 to bag the Bronze medals.
In the post-match award ceremony, Padma Shri Dilip Tirkey, ex-captain of Indian Hockey Team, the Chief Guest on the occasion, handed over the awards to the respective winning teams and players. Present on the occasion were Shri Vineel Krishna, Special Secretary to Chief Minister’s Office and Sports and youth Services Department, Shri Debasis Jena, Chief Resident Executive, Tata Steel, Bhubaneswar, Shri Sudhir Diggikar, Regional CEO, Apollo Hospitals and Shri Rajiv Seth, Project Director, Odisha Naval Tata Hockey High Performance Centre.
On the occasion, Shri Dilip Tirkey said, “I enjoyed the high voltage game played by young talents with practically no exposure to astro turf Hockey and want to thank the Government of Odisha and Odisha Naval Tata Hockey High Performance Centre (HPC) for encouraging these young generation of hockey players to be future of tomorrow.”
Speaking on the Occasion, Shri Vineel Krishna said, “Thanks to Odisha Naval Tata Hockey HPC for this amazing initiative of bringing boys and girls from the grassroots centres run by the HPC and giving them an exposure to play at an International stadium. Keep working hard and Odisha is there to support you in your journey of Hockey. I am proud how the boys and girls from grassroots have played here. I am sure there will be more such amazing tournaments in the near future by virtue of which we can scout more and more players to excel at the highest level”
Speaking on the Occasion, Shri Debasis Jena said, “The way young talents performed, has made me feel that Indian Hockey future is in safe hands with Odisha taking such measures to promote Hockey in the state. I see many Dilip Tirkey in these young players who would be representing the country in future. We feel privileged to be associated for such a cause with the Government of Odisha”.
The Odisha Naval Tata Hockey High Performance Centre (HPC), set-up in Bhubaneswar with a vision to groom the upcoming sporting talent in hockey and produce world-class sportspersons, conducted the first Odisha Naval Tata Hockey Grassroot League at the Kalinga Hockey Complex. The tournament was conducted to encourage young kids who are receiving daily hockey training at its Grassroots Centres spread across Odisha. In the tournament cadets of 10 out of the operational 12 Grassroots Centres had participated.
The first phase of the Tournament was conducted from 15th February till 21st February 2021 and the final Phase was conducted from 2nd March to 6th March 2021 at the iconic International Kalinga Hockey Stadium at Bhubaneswar in which 8 shortlisted teams from phase 1 – 4 Boys and 4 Girls Teams had participated. The Boys Teams were Subdega, Purnapani, Kadobahal and Majhapara, while the Girls Teams were Nuagaon, Alanda, Majhapara and Kadobahal.
The HPC, established by the Department of Sports & Youth Services, Govt. of Odisha, in partnership with HAF (Hockey Ace Foundation) and under the aegis of Tata Trusts and Tata Steel, was launched on August 13, 2019, by the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Odisha, Shri Naveen Patnaik, along with Mr. T. V. Narendran, CEO & MD, Tata Steel. This elite HPC has been opened in Bhubaneswar as part of the three-pronged Tata Odisha Hockey Programme, a joint initiative of Tata Steel, Tata Trusts and Government of Odisha to nurture sports talent in the State, which is already being hailed as a cradle for the sport.
The HPC is named in the honour of Naval H. Tata to commemorate his contribution to Hockey in India, his achievements as an outstanding sports administrator and passion for sports. Naval H. Tata held prestigious positions such as President of the All India Council of Sports (AICS), President of the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) for fifteen years and Vice Chairman of the International Hockey Federation (IHF).
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