Hockey popularity prompts Odisha children to wield sticks

Odisha in eastern India is considered the cradle of Indian hockey. The state – though still bracketed as an impoverished region with high unemployment and runaway migration – is the official sponsor of the Indian hockey team.

The state has also captured everyone’s imagination by hosting two editions of the hockey World Cup – the first time in 2018 and then again this year spread over the capital city of Bhubaneswar and the steel city of Rourkela.

Odisha’s field goal

Everyone agrees that the Odisha government’s overdrive in promoting hockey will go a long way in resurrecting and thereafter reclaiming India’s sporting glory. Till some decades ago, India after all, was a hockey super power – the country was bracketed as one of the strongest teams in the world before an inexplicable decline in hockey standards set in. 

India now struggles to make its mark in the sport. In the just concluded World Cup, the team was knocked out in the early stages, leaving the field to mostly European nations.

But there is hope still, and the green shoots for a renewal are sprouting up with encouraging regularity in Odisha’s rural interiors.

The quaint village of Khambesi atop the Niyamgiri hills in Rayagada district is one such. Mostly inhabited by members of the Dongria Kondh community – a particularly vulnerable tribal group – it is the children here who are wielding the hockey stick and attempting to script a revival of hockey fortunes.

Hundreds of miles away from the big cities – and some 500 kms away from the world’s largest hockey stadium built in double-quick time for the World Cup hockey – these children have little infrastructure to play the game in their rugged terrain.

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But what they have is an indomitable spirit and an unmatched passion for the game.

Hockey has become a religion in Odisha. All schools and tribal communities celebrated the hockey festival.

In the absence of proper hockey equipment, they have fashioned their own hockey sticks. Traditionally, the sticks are made of hickory, ash or mulberry wood with the head of the sticks having a curvature.

For want of money, the children of Khambesi make do with sticks made from the wood of Salap or Aceraceae tree trunks. 

Armed with the sticks, the children take over a patch of land every day. Elders of the village throng the field too, to be on the side-lines to cheer the young players.

The scene plays out almost every day, before the start of classes at the local school at 8am, and then after 4pm when the school closes.

Locals say the craze for the game at Khambesi began when one Santosh Munda – considered the ‘captain’ of the village boys – happened to watch a hockey match on television during the just concluded World Cup.

“I knew about hockey but I had never watched a match. So, I did not know how to play. But the sport looked interesting and I wanted to try playing it with all my friends,” Munda recollected.

The children’s enthusiasm for the sport was instantly spotted by an alert Odisha government when they made a short video wishing all the teams good luck for the World Cup tournament.

Getting serious about the sport

Officials of the state Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes Development department stepped in, saying they would soon hold a programme in the village to identify talents. 

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“Hockey has become a religion in Odisha. All schools and tribal communities celebrated the hockey festival. We will ensure all that can be done for the sport will be done,” said Roopa Roshan Sahoo, commissioner cum secretary of the department. 

On February 8th, the state government provided the students with proper hockey kits and gear. 

“We will soon work towards developing a proper ground here for the students to play. And, we will identify talents and arrange for their enrollment in nearby sports hostel where they can learn the sport professionally,” Rayagada district collector Swadha Singh said.

The children of Khambesi have reasons to be enthused further in their love for the sport.

They have never been short of hockey icons in the state with Odisha producing no less than 60 international hockey players. Dilip Tirkey, once the Indian hockey team captain and currently the president of Hockey India is from Odisha. So are Amit Rohidas and Nilam Sanjeep Xess, who were important members of the Indian contingent that took part in the recent World Cup.

But what the craze for the game in Khambesi possibly highlights is that the passion for hockey is now spreading across Odisha following years of state government patronage.

In earlier times, hockey was the favourite pastime for youngsters in Sundargarh – another tribal dominated district in western part of the state. 

But now, the love for the game has crossed district boundaries and the excited noise kicked up by the Khambesi children on their makeshift hockey field is proof of that. 

Umashankar, an assistant nutrition manager of the village, said any kind of support would help the children to nurture their aspirations. “Like everywhere else, these children love cricket. But hockey has now grabbed their attention.”

Besides the Khambesi children, some credit is definitely due to the Odisha government for its steadfast support to hockey.

The lead image at the top shows passion for hockey spreading among the children of Odisha (Photo by Aishwarya Mohanty)

Aishwarya Mohanty is an independent journalist based in Odisha. She reports on the intersection of gender, social justice, rural issues and the environment. She is also a Rural Media Fellow powered by Youth Hub.