Driving through the Chhend Colony in Rourkela, navigating a few narrow lanes, you land up in Panposh that has hockey dominating its history and geography. One of the serpentine turns leads you to the State Sports Hostel, which almost surprises you with a vast expanse of a compound in front of the gate, and the facility's body of work has only grown since its inception in 1985, giving India a number of international hockey players.
As the quiet of the morning is taken over by the chirping birds and the sound of ball on stick, a walk outside around the hostel's boundary wall takes you to a rickety structure.
