It was a huge day for Odisha as son of the soil Dilip Tirkey was elected unopposed as the Hockey India (HI) president on Friday after Jharkhand Hockey’s Bhola Nath Singh withdrew his nomination for the post. Uttar Pradesh Hockey chief Rakesh Katyal had also filed nomination for the role but had withdrawn his submission earlier.
Born in Sundergarh district – home of some of the biggest names of Indian hockey – Tirkey went on to captain the Indian national side and played as many as 412 international matches – still the highest by an Indian.