("Dilip") Kumar Tirkey was born on November 24, 1977 in Savnamara near Sundargarh, Orissa. He belongs to the Oraon tribe of Chota Nagpur. He made his international debut for the Indian national hockey team in 1995 against England in the Indira Gandhi Gold Cup. He has played in three Olympics and is considered as one of the best penalty corner hitters in the world. Etching the career graph of an Adivasi lad from a remote hamlet of Orissa moving up the social ladder to become the captain of the national hockey team is a fascinating exercise. Tirkey captained the national squad for almost a decade. He's the only Adivasi to represent India in three Olympic Games, starting in 1996. After the 2004 Summer Olympics, where India finished in seventh place, he is playing in the Netherlands, for HC Klein Zwitserland in the highest league named Hoofdklasse, alongside his fellow countryman Gagan Ajit Singh. He is the captain of Orissa Steelers,which won the 3rd Premier Hockey League title of India. He is the second adivasi leading the national team, and this honour comes to him after a gap of 75 years, the first was Jaipal Singh who led India in India's first hockey Olympics in 1928 at Amsterdam. Tirkey may not be as lucky as Jaipal Singh to have such stalwarts as Dhyan Chand, Penniger and Cullen in the squad, but he has a generous measure of junior talent that won the World Cup at Hobart last year. One of the most talented deep defenders in India, Dilip Tirkey, now, is also one of the most best penalty corner hitters in the world.ing television.
No comments:
Post a Comment