Bhubaneswar: Former India hockey captain, Dilip Tirkey has been appointed as the chairman of the Adhoc Committee of Odisha Hockey by Hockey India (HI) on Friday.

The ad-hoc committee will manage the operations and promotion of Hockey across Odisha and ensure the betterment of 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, Odisha Hockey Promotion Council, and is closely involved in the development of grassroots programmes and infrastructure and producing more internationals from Odisha.

In the meeting, Adhip Das shared, “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. I congratulate him on this new role.”

“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 & all stakeholders to take the sport of hockey to the next level in Odisha and grow the sport further”, Shri. Bhola Nath, Member Odisha Adhoc Committee.

Speaking on this occasion, Shri Tirkey, who is also Chairman, Odisha Hockey Promotion Council, said, “This is a huge privilege and I am deeply honored. 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,” he added.