Bhubaneswar: The 2nd edition of Odisha Naval Tata Hockey Grassroot League concluded on August 20, with Gurundia and Subdega being crowned as champions of girls’ and boys’ categories, respectively.
Notably, the tournament was held in two phases. The first phase was held earlier this year where 14 Grassroot Centres of Odisha Naval Tata Hockey HPC participated, witnessing more than 500 players.
Out of them, the top 8 teams in both categories, featuring around 250 players, qualified for the final phase, which were as follows: Dhenkanal, Purnapani, Dantri, Kadobahal, Kahupani, Subdega, Gurundia and Majhapara. The final phase of the tournament was held from August 17-20 at Kalinga Stadium.
In the girls category, Gurundia clinched the trophy after defeating Kahupani 2-1 in the final. Meanwhile, Subdega took home the third place after securing a 2-1 win over Purnapani in the bronze medal match.
In the boys category, Subdega clinched the trophy after defeating Dhenkanal 3-1 in the final. Meanwhile, Gurundia finished at third place following their 2-0 win over Kadobahal in the bronze medal match.
Reflecting on the success of the tournament, Rajiv Seth, Project Director, ONTHHPC, said, “With the kind of enthusiasm I saw among the players during the tournament, I believe sky is the limit for Odisha Naval Tata Hockey Grassroots League going forward. The vision of honourable Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is that Hockey should be promoted to the best and that is what we all are working towards.”
Dilip Tirkey, Chairman, Odisha Hockey Promotion Council, was the guest of honor during the ceremony. He said, “I want to congratulate all the players who took part in the tournament as they are the future of Odisha and India in Hockey. Not only Sundargarh, today we have centres in different parts of the state like Sambalpur, Deogarh, Dhenkanal, Chatrapur etc. I want everyone to keep practising and keep working on fitness and I am sure you will get many more opportunities in future.”
