IMAGE: India’s players celebrate a goal during their Hockey World Cup 2023 match against Spain in Rourkela on Friday. Photograph: Hockey India
Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey said India can win a World Cup medal this time after a hiatus of 48 years but for that the home side needs to make use of penalty corners.
India have not won a World Cup medal since winning a gold in the 1975 edition but Tirkey, one of the finest defenders of his time and former captain, said the hosts under Graham Reid can stand on the podium in the ongoing mega-event at home.
“We have fielded the Indian team to win a medal this time, we would want India to be in the medal tally. They are currently playing really well,” Tirkey said on Sunday.
“But modern hockey has changed a lot. Penalty corners have become very important. When the penalty corner conversion clicks, most of the time the team wins. We have very good dragflickers and I hope they click in the tournament and win a medal for India.
“(Captain) Harmanpreet Singh has been doing very well for the country as a dragflicker though he was not at his best against Spain. So, we are hoping India does well in penalty corners,” said Tirkey, the most capped Indian player (412 matches).
Asked if India can beat the likes of defending champions Belgium and world number one Australia, he said, “The team fought against Australia very well in the (five-match) series, they had competed very well.
“Belgium is also one of the best sides in the world. But India is now in a position to fight against any team in the world on a particular day.”
Tirkey, a three-time Olympian, also said that the Hockey India League (HIL) will be revived and the national federation is trying to restart it by the end of this year.
“Restarting HIL is on the main agenda of Hockey India. We are trying to restart it by the end of this year, we are going to find an agency to hold the league on a long-term sustainable basis and also the franchises,” he said.
He also said that the World Cup in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela will set the benchmark for future host countries of the marque tournament.
“When Kalinga stadium hosted the 2018 World Cup final, I thought that was the best stadium. But when I came here and saw myself and after speaking to coaches and players, it (Birsa Munda stadium) is simply magnificent. I think there is no better stadium (than this) in the world,” Tirkey said.
“Of course, if a better stadium than this comes up, that will be good for hockey. With this world’s largest stadium hosting the World Cup along with the Kalinga Stadium, no doubt this World Cup will set the benchmark for future editions.”
Tirkey, who was born at Saunamara village in Sundargarh district of Odisha, said after the World Cup the Birsa Munda stadium can host training camps of the national teams as well as domestic championships, besides Pro League matches in March.
“There will be Pro League matches here in March, there will be domestic championships and Asian Games and Olympics preparation for the national teams.
“The Indian women’s team has qualified for the Pro League (after winning the FIH Nation’s Cup) and we can have exposure tournaments here,” he said.
Asked how much the game has changed in the country since his playing days, Tirkey recollected a time when he was forced to travel to Kolkata and Delhi to play on astro-turf surfaces.
“It was in 1989-90, I would go to Kolkata and then to Delhi to play on astro-turf. Now, only in Odisha there are 35 astro-turf surfaces. All the 17 blocks of Sundergarh will have astro-turf surfaces. So, lot of things have changed. I thank the Odisha government for this,” he said.
“Even my village of birth now has synthetic sand turf. Earlier, we did not even have a proper hockey ground in the village. Now small kids in our village can learn hockey through proper coaching. So much has changed now.” he said.
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