Will do my best to ensure the game is governed well: Dilip Tirkey, president, Hockey India

With 412 international caps, Dilip Tirkey was one of the best to have played hockey for India. Now, 12 years after his retirement, Tirkey is the new Hockey India (HI) president. With the Men’s Hockey World Cup, to be held in India, just months away (from 13 January, 2023) and with the team getting a favourable draw, hopes will be high from the team. The women’s team too have done well winning bronze and the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. In short, the game has good momentum at present. In an interview with Boria Majumdar, the newly elected president talked about how he plans to take things forward, his vision for HI and Team India, and more. Excerpts:


You will hardly have time to settle with so much going on. How are you looking at the challenges ahead?
It will be an interesting challenge for sure. Hockey is the sport that has taught us the art of winning Olympic medals. We were known for our hockey. To win that many gold medals at the Olympics shows the pedigree we have. And after the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, there has been a resurgence. People have started to follow hockey, consume hockey and enjoy hockey. The women too did extremely well. I will ensure we sustain the momentum and also work on the gaps that we have identified.

You mention gaps. Tell us more.
Drag flicks. They are massively important. We have some excellent drag flickers but we need to ensure we get better and have a plan ahead. Harmanpreet (Singh) and Rupinder Pal have done well for us and Gurjit (Kaur) has matured over a period of time. But we need to get even better because good drag flickers can win you games. Sandeep (Singh) and Jugraj (Singh) both were excellent but then you know what happened to them and for a period we struggled. Now, we have got better again and we must ensure this is sustained.

The second aspect that we must focus on is goalkeeping. The impact of a goalkeeper in modern hockey is massive. See what (PR) Sreejesh has done for the men’s team. And look at what Savita has achieved for the women’s team. It is important we focus on goalkeeping to ensure we are ready with the best going forward.

How are you looking at the upcoming World Cup?
It is a massive tournament for us. A home World Cup is always special and very rarely do you have back-to-back home World Cups. If you see the facilities in Odisha, they are superb. We are looking forward to welcoming the world to Odisha in January and with Covid-19 under control, we expect packed houses for most games. Draws and the schedule is out, so people can plan accordingly. When you have crowd support it automatically gives you a boost and it should be no different for the Indian team. We also have the Pro League in Bhubaneswar and that too should be a very good tournament.

What’s your long-term vision for hockey?
I want to revive the Hockey India League (HIL). If you go back and check in time, you will see the HIL did well for Indian hockey. Our young players got the chance to rub shoulders with the best in the world and as a result they got better in both skill and mental strength. If you are continuously exposed to the best, you will naturally get better. These same players thereafter came into the Indian fold and made a real difference to the national team. If all goes well, I am very keen to revive the HIL for I believe it can leave a significant impact on the future. Having said that, I am aware that the international calendar has changed and it is nearly packed. We will try and work out a window for the league.

In India, we move from one Olympics to another. That’s when the whole country gets behind hockey. Any thoughts on Paris 2024.
You are right. We are an Olympics obsessed country. It is certainly one of the most important competitions for us. Like I said, hockey taught us the art of winning Olympic medals. No one can match what India has done in the past. And it is important we continue to do well at the Olympics and sustain the momentum. The women’s team came fourth in Tokyo. They certainly have the potential to make the podium. The men are ranked in the top-half of the world’s 10 best teams and they won silver at the 2022 CWG. We can certainly win medals in Paris and that will be a major focus of mine.

Hockey India has had serious issues in the past. How are you looking to address them?
I am aware of the challenges and will do my best to ensure the game, on and off the field, is looked after and governed well. There are a lot of good things happening and there are also some things that need to be looked into. I will do my best to address them.