Tirkey touring tribal villages. His proposed rural hockey tournament will have 25,000 players.
He is trying to convince tribal youth to abandon guns to take up hockey
Published: Sun 13 Nov 2016, 4:36 PM
The cheeks are slightly fuller; not the athletic, chiselled look. At close to six feet, he is still remarkably fit, probably just a couple of kilos over the line. In 2004, at the Athens Olympics, apart from the pep talk to the Indian hockey team as its captain, Dilip Tirkey was the quintessential introvert. Now after retiring from the sport in 2010, the former full-back and deep-defender is a tribal leader urging his community to pick up hockey sticks, not guns. For a boy who came from an extremely humble background, Tirkey, 39, was picked by the state Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik as his party's nominee to the Rajya Sabha, India's upper house in Parliament where he is now Biju Janata Dal's chief whip.
Sundergarh, the district, where Dilip played his early hockey now falls under the 'Red Corridor'. It's the operative word for naxal activity. Villagers and tribals have been bereft of government subsidies in these areas and with private mining companies eating away at the land, cutting forests, disgruntled tribals are easy prey for Maoists seeking to arm them. "It's terrible to watch the youth waste away," says Tirkey. "That's why I have decided to hold a tournament, the Biju Patnaik Rural Hockey Tournament across three states - Chattisgarh, Odisha and Jharkhand. And more than 1500 teams have signed up."
The proposed tournament will be the largest field hockey tournament in the world and Dilip has also asked the Guinness Book of World Records for an endorsement. The tournament will be inaugurated in Rourkela, a modern township that has a steel plant, and will have 25,000 hockey players participating. It's proposed that India's Vice-President Mohammad Hamid Ansari might be the chief guest at the opening ceremony.
Most of these districts are marooned in economically distressed areas and Tirkey feels the need to bring them to the forefront. He pauses for a moment before replying. "I know the government needs to do a lot more," he says. "But I - as a former Olympian and now with a voice - should do more. I cannot see young boys pick up guns. They need to be armed with hockey sticks so that they can play, get jobs and spend time on the field rather than be brainwashed by Maoist elements."
Tirkey speaks in the Upper House of the Indian Parliament and has been attracting attention on topics ranging from more funds in sports to health and even debating on controversial defence deals like the AgustaWestland Chopper scam. From someone who shied away from interviews as a player, today he speaks to large gatherings. But when he is back home which is in Sundergarh, does he sense an undercurrent of anger among the people? "I wouldn't say anger," he explains. "But disappointment surely. Maybe, we have failed them and it's time to correct the process."
Tirkey made his hockey debut in 1995, playing three consecutive Olympic Games and picking up gold medals at the 1998 Asian Games, and the 2003 and 2007 Asia Cups. In 2006 and 2007, he was selected for the World All Star teams. It's no secret that in the state of Odisha, he is one of the Chief Minister's blue-eyed boys. Does that mean that he cannot criticise the state letting down the tribal areas; after all he is the most prominent tribal in the state. "I don't think I need to criticise anybody," says Tirkey. "I need to be proactive and ensure that things happen in those areas. If my proximity to the government helps, then why not use it for developmental work."
Most states in India cannot rustle up 20 hockey teams. But here is a man, a former hockey great, who is bringing together 1500 teams to play across four months in what should be the biggest gathering of hockey players. Leave aside the dribbling, feints, skills, defeats, victories and the eventual crowning of a champion rural team, the tournament promises to empower the rural tribal youth. As Dilip says, the idea is to reclaim the hockey stick and ensure that they start 'dreaming again'.
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