FULL NAME: Florencia Ekka
GENDER: Female
DATE OF BIRTH: 8th January, 1975 (Official date)
FAMILY: Father (Vincent Ekka), Mother (Margareet Ekka), Husband (Prasanta Kumar Kaistha)
ORIGINAL HOME ADDRESS: Masnikani, Bamda, Sambalpur, Odisha, India.
PRESENT ADDRESS: Panpost Sports Hostel, Rourkela, Odisha, India.
ACADEMIC EDUCATION: Arts Graduate from Koida College. Earlier studied at Birsa Munda Bidyapitha, Rourkela.
ROLE IN THE SPORT: Player-turned-Coach
TYPE OF PLAYER: Forward
HOME ACADEMY: Panposh Sports Hostel, Rourkela (One of first-batch girls trainees. Joined in 1987)
RECEIVED COACHING FROM: Peter Tirkey, Kalu Charan Choudhury
PROFESSION: Employee of Department of Sports & Youth Services, Govt of Odisha and working as hockey coach at Sports Hostel, Rourkela.
COACHING EDUCATION:
*     Diploma in Coaching (Hockey), Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports (NSNIS), Patiala, 1996-98.
*     Did FIH Hockey India High Performance Coaching Course in Delhi, 2013.
*     Did international coaching course in Budapest, Hungary from 17 Sept to 5 Nov, 2012.
*     Did FIH Hockey India High Performance Coaching Course in Lucknow, 2012.

MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS AS PLAYER:
*     Bronze medal for Andhra Pradesh in Senior Women Zonal National Hockey Championship, Bangalore, 2005.
*     Gold medal in Women Sports National Hockey Championship, Pune, Maharashtra, 1996. She also led the Odisha team.
*     Bronze medal in Women Federation Cup Hockey Championship, Ranchi, 1996.
*     Silver medal in Women Federation Cup Hockey Championship, Gorakhpur, 1995.
*     Gold medal in Junior Women National Hockey Championship, Jalandhar, Punjab, 1995.
*     Silver medal in Women Sports Hockey National Championship, Trivandrum, Kerala, 1994-95.
*     Silver medal in Women Sports Hockey National Championship, Hissar, Haryana, 1993-94.
*     Bronze medal in Women School National Hockey Championship, Ranchi, 1993.
*     Gold medal in Women Rural National Hockey Championship, Gorakhpur, 1993.
*     Silver medal in Women Sports Hockey National Championship, Cuttack 1993.
*     Gold medal in Women Rural National Hockey Championship, Sonepath, 1992.
*     Bronze medal in Women Sports Hockey National Championship, Bangalore, 1991.
*     Bronze medal in Women Rural National Hockey Championship, Lucknow, 1991.
*     Bronze medal in Women Sports Hockey National Championship, Hyderabad, 1991.
*     Silver medal in Women Sports Hockey National Championship, Cuttack, 1990.
*     Bronze medal in Women Rural National Hockey Championship, Gumla, 1990.

MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS AS COACH:
*     Under her coaching, Odisha won 4 Gold, 3 Silver and 8 Bronze medals in National Hockey Championships.
*     Groomed many eminent hockey players including women internationals Rashmita Minz, Mariana Kujur, Ashmita Barla, Ajmina Kujur, Jiwan Kishori Toppo and Philicia Toppo.
*     She was coach of the Odisha U-17 women hockey team that won Bronze medal at the 3rd Khelo India Youth Games in Guwahati on 20 January, 2020.
*     She was head coach of the Hockey Odisha-Gangpur team at the 9th Hockey India Junior Women National Championship (A Division), held at Kollam, Kerala from 31 Jan-10 Feb, 2019.
*     She was head coach of the Hockey Odisha-Gangpur team at the 8th Hockey India Junior Women National Championship (A Division), held at Bhopal (MP) from 26 April to 6 May, 2018.
*     She was head coach of the Hockey Odisha-Gangpur team at the 7th Hockey India Senior Women National Championship (A Division), held at Rohtak, Haryana from 20-30 April, 2017.
*     She was manager of the Hockey Odisha-Gangpur team at the 6th Hockey India Senior Women National Championship (B Division), held at Bengaluru, Karnataka from 18-27 April, 2016.
*     Worked as hockey coach in Bargarh (Odisha) from 2009 to 2012.
*     Worked as hockey coach in Andhra Pradesh from 2002 to 2009.

OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
*     She is the first qualified woman hockey coach of Odisha.
*     Joined Panposh Sports Hostel Rourkela as coach in February, 2012.
*     Attended 1st Afro-Asian Games 2003 as observer of Indian Women Hockey Team.
*     Married cricket coach Prasant Kumar Kaistha in 2018.

PROFILE FIRST UPLOADED: 25 March, 2020
PROFILE LAST UPDATED: 1 July, 2021