Former skipper Dilip Tirkey appointed Chairman of Odisha's Adhoc Committee for Hockey

Former Indian Hockey Captain Dilip Tirkey has been appointed the Chairman of the newly formed Adhoc Committee to manage Hockey in Odisha. He has been elected unanimously at the 1st Committee meeting convened virtually on Friday.

As per the release issued by the state government, the Adhoc Committee will manage the operations and promotion of Hockey across Odisha and ensure the betterment of players, focusing on grassroot development and nurturing young hockey players.

Other members of the Committee include-- Adhip Das, representative of Odisha Olympic Association; Bhola Nath, Vice President, Hockey India; Shailendra Jena, Deputy Secretary, Sports and Youth Services Government of Odisha as Member Convener; and Rajendra Pani, Under Secretary, Sports, and Youth Services Department.

Currently, Tirkey is the Chairman of Odisha Hockey Promotion Council and closely involved in the development of the grassroot-programs and infrastructure aiming to produce more internationals from Odisha.

Speaking on the occasion Tirkey said, " This is an opportunity for the Committee to take immediate and necessary action for securing the interest of hockey players of Odisha across different age categories and simultaneously, handle the management of district Hockey Associations. Today, three hockey players from Odisha have been selected to the Indian national Hockey teams for Tokyo 2020 Olympics. In the coming years, we will work towards nurturing more players from the state."

In the meeting, Adhip Das said, "Today, Odisha is synonym with Hockey but there is more to achieve. With a veteran as the Chair of the committee, we are optimistic about the overall growth of Hockey in Odisha."

"Odisha has been a cradle for hockey in India. Efforts will be put in to develop hockey in all districts of Odisha. With the continued support of Odisha State Government and all stakeholders to take the sport of hockey to the next level in Odisha and grow the sport further," said Bhola Nath, Vice President, Hockey India who is also a member of Odisha Adhoc Committee.

( With inputs from ANI )