Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Naval Tata Hockey High Performance Center, set-up with a vision to groom the sporting talent in hockey, today opened two new Grassroot Centres, in Ganjam and Nayagarh districts in Odisha under the Odisha Tata Hockey Initiative.
The inauguration event was held virtually today and was attended Dilip Tirkey, Odisha Hockey Promotion Council, Vineel Krishna, Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Sports & Youth Services Department, Vijay Amruta Kulange, Collector, Ganjam, Poma Tudu Collector, Nayagarh, among others.
The Odisha Tata Hockey Grassroot Center at Ranpur, Nayagarh was inaugurated by Tirkey while the Chatrapur, Ganjam center was inaugurated by Krishna.
The Odisha Naval Tata Hockey HPC is striving ahead in leaving its footprint in the hockey playing belts of Odisha through its existing grassroot programme in conjunction with Sports Department, Government of Odisha.
The grassroots programme of the Odisha Naval Tata Hockey HPC was launched on December 1, 2019 as Odisha Tata Hockey Initiative in which the HPC has set up 8 grassroots centres in Sundargarh and 2 in Sambalpur. Last year (on January 22, 2021), two new grassroots centres were opened in Dhenkanal and Deogarh. With today’s inauguration, the number of Odisha Tata Hockey Grassroot Centers now stands at 14 spread across 6 districts.
Tirkey, said, “It gives me immense pleasure to be a part of the launch of the new grassroot centres, Chhatrapur and Ranapur. This has been possible due to the combined efforts of Govt. of Odisha and Tata. In the last few years, Odisha has focused a lot on improving the grassroots hockey structure in the state. It is also the vision of our Hon’ble Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to provide our hockey players the best facilities, so that more number of players from Odisha represent the country. My best wishes to the entire team.”
Krishna, said, “For the holistic development of Hockey, we have to strengthen our grassroots and this program is a step in that direction. This is a great opportunity for every young hockey enthusiast in Odisha and I wish each of them the best for their future.”
On the occasion, Chanakya Chaudhary, Chairman, Hockey Ace Foundation and Vice President, Corporate Services, Tata Steel, said, “We are proud to be part of this wonderful initiative to promote hockey in the rural areas of Odisha in collaboration with the Government of Odisha and Tata Trusts. The passion for hockey in Odisha, especially among the State’s youth, is unmatched. Odisha has a proud legacy of nurturing some of our country’s finest hockey players over last few decades. I congratulate all stakeholders involved in this initiative and wish both the new Centres the very best as they develop regional talent and help them reach their aspirations.”
Odisha Naval Tata Hockey HPC has trained 30 grassroot coaches and appointed them at 14 Centers to run the programme. All the grassroot coaches are being facilitated to Hockey India Coaching Pathway program in order to attain Coaching Certifications from HI/FIH. So far, 2400 kids have registered under the grassroot programme and they have been receiving hockey training at different Centers.
Odisha Naval Tata Hockey HPC, established by the Department of Sports & Youth Services, Government 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 Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, along with TV Narendran, CEO & MD, Tata Steel. The Academy 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.
This elite hockey academy 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.
