Hockey India (HI) Thursday inducted Hockey Gangpur (Odisha) as an associate member with former captain and Olympian Dilip Tirkey as the president.
HI now has 17 associate, 27 affiliated and two state Olympic association members. With this inclusion, Hockey Gangpur (Odisha) can take part in all the National Championships. Gangpur and its surrounding areas have produced numerous Olympians and international players.
"Many players including Dilip Tirkey, Ignace Tirkey, Prabodh Tirkey, Michael Kindo, Lazarus Barla and Subhadra Pradhan have played at international level from the Gangpur region and the entry of Hockey Gangpur (Odisha) would play a major role in promoting and developing hockey in the tribal areas. We are hopeful that the association can help the development of talent in the region," HI secretary general Narinder Batra said.
Debashish Gouda has been named as the secretary general of Hockey Gangpur (Odisha).
