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Naval Tata Hockey Academy (NTHA) Odisha High Performance Centre (HPC), set-up in Bhubaneswar with a vision to groom hock talents and produce world-class players, commenced its boys resident programme at the Kalinga Hockey Complex today. A total of 31 cadets have been selected for the programme.
These players, in the age group of under-17 years, have been chosen from a two-week long selection camp that was held from 17 November to 1 December 2020 in Bhubaneswar and was attended by 100 cadets. While 21 players are from Odisha, seven are from Manipur, two from Uttar Pradesh and one from Assam. NTHA Odisha Projecty Director Rajiv Seth had announced the list of 21 players earlier on 8 December, 2020.
The Hockey HPC has also created a standby list of 8 (5 from Odisha) talented players. The HPC has also recommended some players to sports hostels run by the Department of Sports & Youth Services (DSYS), Govt. of Odisha, in Panposh and Sundargarh. These hostels are also Regional Development Centres and serve as a stepping stone to the Odisha Naval Tata Hockey HPC.
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The formal inauguration of the Boys Resident Programme was held today at Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar, and was attended by Odisha Sports Minister Tusharkanti Behera along with DSYS Principal Secretary Vishal Kumar Dev, Odisha hockey Olympian Dillip Tirkey, Tata Steel Vice-President and Hockey Ace Foundation (HAF) Chairman Chanakya Chaudhary, and HAF CEO Goutam Mukherjee.
On the occasion, two grassroots centres, in Dhenkanal and Deogarh, were also launched, thus taking the tally of grassroots centres to 12. Sports Minister Behera launched the new Grassroots Centers at the Collector office in Dhenkanal and Deogarh earlier this morning through virtual platform.The opening ceremony were held at Mini Stadium in Dhenkanal and Govt Primary School, Kardapal in Deogarh respective.
The HPC will add few more boys and girls to their existing vacancies post April 2021 for which another set of trials will be planned. At present, 30 girls from Odisha, Jharkhand, Assam, Punjab, Manipur, and Uttar Pradesh are being given education under the Resident Programme.
Earlier, the selection for the boys resident programme was undertaken by HPC Technical Director Warner Ven Der Vegt (also the Technical Director of Bovelander Hockey Academy & Hockey Ace Foundation) and Hockey HPC Head Coach P Lakshminarayan. Dutch legend and HPC technical partner Floris Bovelander was consulted and duly involved in the process of final selection. He, however, could not be present at the launching of the resident programme due to international travel restrictions.
The HPC, established by DSYS, in partnership with HAF and under the aegis of Tata Trusts and Tata Steel, was launched on August 13, 2019, by Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. The HPC is named in the honour of Naval H Tata to commemorate his contribution to Hockey in India, his achievements as an outstanding sports administrator and passion for sports. Naval H Tata held prestigious positions such as President of the All India Council of Sports (AICS), President of the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) for 15 years and Vice-Chairman of the International Hockey Federation (IHF).
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TOP: Odisha Sports Minister and other guests at the launching of the NTHA Odisha HPC Boys Resident Programme in Bhubaneswar on 22 January, 2021.
RIGHT: Cadets and officials at the launching of Grassroots Center at Dhenkanal on 22 January, 2021.
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