This was the second such programe by Hockey Gangpur-Odisha, which was lauched last week with Barla and and former India captain Prabodh Tirkey distributing sticks and balls among student of Capital High School.

``The capital city is going to host Hockey World League Final and Hockey World Cup in the year 2017 and 2018 respectively. In the past the Kalinga Stadium  hosted many international matches, but apart from the sports hostel inmates, other school students are yet to get into the game of hockey. In our first step we will create boys hockey teams in city school,’’ said Barla.

``We are extremely happy that our Olympians are taking special interest to develop a hockey team in our school. Our tribal students are keen to learn the skill of the game. In future our school teams will set an example for the capital city,’’ said Capital High School headmistress Sonamika Ray.

``School students of the Capital city are having a special interest for hockey. They are not only keen to watch the international matches here, but also love to learn hockey. In our initial step we will adopt eight city-based schools to create junior level players. We will provide coaches and hockey equipments to the schools,’’ said Hockey Gangpur-Odisha secretary Debasish Gouda.
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TOP: Students of Unit-I Govt Boys’ High School pose with hockey sticks on Sept 22, 2017.
RIGHT: Capital High School headmistress Sonamika Ray with her students at the launcing of the programme on Sept 15, 2017.