New Delhi: Hockey star Dilip Tirkey aims at scoring winning goal

New Delhi : Hockey India president, former India captain and Rajya Sabha member till 2018. Star player Dilip Tirkey is all of those and now aims at scoring a winning goal in the electoral field as the Biju Janata Dal’s (BJD) Lok Sabha candidate from Sundargarh constituency, where hockey is not just a sport but a way of life.

Tirkey contested the Sundargarh seat in 2014 and lost to BJP’s Jual Oram. Ten years later, the star who helped put the tribal dominated area on the world hockey map is confident the result will be different this time and voters will back not just him but Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who has made such a significant contribution to promoting the sport.

“A lot has changed in the last 10 years. A lot of development work has been done in Odisha, be it in education, health or sports,” Tirkey, who has played more than 400 international matches for India, told a news agency in an interview.

“The Odisha government has changed the image of the State by making it a sporting hub of the country with high performance centres, state-of-the-art training facilities and hosting big tournaments. The sports loving people of Sundargarh and Odisha will not forget this while voting,” the 46-year-old added.

Tirkey, the first from Odisha to play for India seniors in 1995, is a household name in hockey-loving Sundargarh. Seeing a boy from Saunamara village in the district play for India and captain the national team was a game changer. He was the first to make it big globally. Since then, Sundargarh district has produced several players such as Lazarus Barla and Birendra Tirkey who have represented India at the World Cup and Olympics.

“Odisha has made a strong presence in the world sports map in the last decade. The world’s largest hockey stadium, Birsa Munda Stadium, has been built in Rourkela and last year the Men’s Hockey World Cup matches were also successfully held there,” Tirkey said.

He didn’t contest in 2019, when Oram returned as MP from Sundargarh, and was a member of the Rajya Sabha from 2012 to 2018. Hockey, in Tirkey’s view, is an emotional pivot in his constituency which goes to the polls on May 20.

Over the years, the Naveen-led Odisha government and hockey have become intertwined. Besides the many facilities, the Odisha government in 2018 became the main sponsor of the Indian teams, signing a Rs 100 crore deal for five years. In 2021, it renewed the contract for 10 years for an undisclosed sum after India won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics.

The love for hockey looming large in the backdrop, Tirkey said the sportsperson in him will make him a better politician and MP too. “I have worked very hard as a player and will do so in politics as well. Players can be successful politicians. Sports mean hard work and discipline which is necessary in politics also. Along with this, there is a need for patience which I have maintained throughout my career,” he said.