Dilip Tirkey (born 25 November 1977), is a former

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...

player,

Politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...

and Sports Administrator. His former playing position was of full back. He was best known for his penalty corner hit. Dilip was one of the most difficult defenders (because of his tight marking skill near goal post) to beat in the world and was known as "The Wall of Indian Hockey" He was an ex-captain of

Indian hockey team The India men's national field hockey team represents India in international field hockey competitions, and is governed by Hockey India. The team was formerly under the control of Indian Hockey Federation. India was the first non-European team t ...

. The first & only Hockey player from India to play more than 400 international matches Dilip Tirkey was the Former Captain of the Indian Hockey Team. Having played 412 international matches for India, Dilip Tirkey has represented India in 3 Olympic Games & was Captain of the Indian Hockey Team at the 2004 Summer Olympics at Athens. Under his captaincy, India clinched gold medal at the 2003 Afro-Asian Games by defeating arch-rivals Pakistan in the Final. The First-ever Tribal to receive Padma Shri Award, Dilip Tirkey is a former Member of Parliament of India in Rajya Sabha, former Chairman of Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC), Chairman of Odisha Hockey Promotion Council & Hockey Odisha's ad-hoc committee. In September 2022, he became President of Hockey India. On 22 March 2012, he was elected unopposed to the

Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...

as one of the three

Biju Janata Dal The Biju Janata Dal (; BJD) is a regional political party in the Indian state of Odisha founded and led by Naveen Patnaik, the current Chief Minister of Odisha and the son of former Chief Minister of Odisha Biju Patnaik, after whom the par ...

(BJD) candidates to the Upper House of Indian Parliament. Previously, Dilip Tirkey was working as chairman of

Odisha Tourism Development Corporation The Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC) is a Government of Odisha undertaking corporation in the Indian state of Odisha. It was incorporated in the year 1979 to promote tourism in the state and operate some of the existing tourist bung ...

(OTDC), now he is working as the chairman of Odisha Hockey Promotion Council. In September 2022, he was elected unopposed to the position of the president of

Hockey India Hockey India plans, directs and conducts all the activities for both men and women hockey in India. It is recognized by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Govt. of India as the sole body responsible towards promoting Hockey in India. It w ...

. He is the first ever international hockey player to become President of Hockey India Dilip Tirkey Sports Research Development Foundation short and abbreviated as DTSRD is an initiative of Padma Shri Dilip Tirkey. DTSRD has its registered office in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. Dibakar Parichha serves as the Secretary-General of DTSRD while Prime Abhilas is the Managing Director of DTSRD. The Founder – President of DTSRD is Dilip Tirkey

Personal life

Dilip Tirkey was born in Odisha on 25 November 1977 and there parents are Regina Tirkey and Vincent Tirkey a former CRPF Odia hockey player. His twin younger brothers Anoop Tirkey and Ajit Tirkey plays for

Indian Railways Indian Railways (IR) is a statutory body under the ownership of Ministry of Railways, Government of India that operates India's national railway system. It manages the fourth largest national railway system in the world by size, with a tota ...

. He is married to Mamta Tirkey. He was appointed as the Deputy Manager at

Air India Air India is the flag carrier airline of India, headquartered at New Delhi. It is owned by Talace Private Limited, a Special-Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of Tata Sons, after Air India Limited's former owner, the Government of India, completed the ...

(Bhubaneswar) in 1996. His family follows

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

ism.

Career

He made his debut in 1995 against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. He represented India in 1996 Atlanta, 2000 Sydney and

2004 Athens Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

and had a total of 412 international caps. He is the only tribal hockey player to represent India in three Olympics. In 2002 Dilip Tirkey was handed over the captaincy of the team as he became the first tribal to captain the Indian hockey team in the post-independence era. He captained the team that won silver at the 2002 Asian Games and gold in the 2003 Afro-Asian Games. He was also a part of the team that won the gold at the Bangkok Asian Games in 1998 and won the 2003 Asia Cup held in Malaysia. On 2 May 2010, he announced his retirement from the international arena. While Dilip Tirkey wore the blue jersey of the Indian national hockey team, his swift footwork and wizardly interception of the ball put him in the ranks of the world's best defenders. He is the first player in the world to have played 400 international matches. At

Sundergarh Sundergarh is a town in Sundergarh district of the Indian state of Odisha. As of 2011 census, the municipality had a population of 45,036. Sundargarh is recognized as an industrial district in Odisha. Steel, fertilizer, cement, ferrovanadium, ...

Dilip Tirkey is revered as a hero. For youngsters who played the sport, he is the embodiment of success. He declined to become a national selector on 16 July 2010, three days after he was offered the post by the

Indian Hockey Federation The Indian Hockey Federation was the Indian branch of the International Hockey Federation. Background It was the apex governing body of field hockey in India. It was formed on 7 November 1925 in Gwalior. It was the first non-European team t ...

. In three Olympics he has participated his penalty corner hitting is considered as one of the best in the world. He has a total of 412 international caps and has scored over 60 goals in his international career. Under the Captaincy of Dilip Tirkey

Orissa Steelers The Orissa Steelers are the winners of the Premier Hockey League 2007, India's only national league level Field Hockey tournament. The originally proposed name for the team was Rourkela Steelers after the city which is said to be the Hockey Capit ...

team won the 2007 edition of

Premier Hockey League Premier Hockey League (PHL) was a professional field hockey league competition for clubs in the top division of the Indian hockey system. There were seven teams in the PHL. The competition was held every year from 2005 until 2008. History The ...

. He was awarded Player of Tournament in PHL 2007. In 2005 Hyderabad Sultans won the inaugural season of

under Captaincy of Dilip Tirkey. He was also named the Player of Tournament in first edition of PHL. In 2005 Dilip Tirkey led the team Sindh Qalandars that won the inaugural season of Pakistan's SHL (Super Hockey League). Dilip Tirkey was among the few Indian players who played in Pakistan's SHL

Dilip Tirkey Sports Research Development Foundation

Dilip Tirkey Sports Research Development Foundation (DTSRD) was initiated by Dilip Tirkey. Dibakar Parichha & Prime Abhilas serve as Secretary-General and Managing Director of DTSRD. DTSRD organized a Six-a-side Hockey Fest for village teams at eight centers in Sundergarh & Bhubaneswar in 2010. In 2016, Dilip Tirkey Sports Research and Development Foundation organized one of the largest hockey tournaments in the world, The Biju Patnaik Rural Hockey Championships, for the tribals of Odisha, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh which was inaugurated by the

Vice President of India The vice president of India (IAST: ) is the deputy to the head of state of the Republic of India, i.e. the president of India. The office of vice president is the second-highest constitutional office after the president and ranks second in the ...

Mohammad Hamid Ansari and Odisha Chief Minister

Naveen Patnaik Naveen Patnaik (born 16 October 1946) is an Indian politician serving as the current and 14th Chief Minister of Odisha. He is also the president of the Biju Janata Dal, a writer and has authored three books. He is the longest-serving chief min ...

. The tournament comprised over 22,000 players, and 1500 teams from 900 villages, which was a Guinness world record. The objective of the tournament was to bring about a sports culture in the Naxal-infested regions and ensure that the tribal youth pick up hockey sticks and not guns. Speaking at the inauguration of the Tournament,

, Hamid Ansari said, "I’ve never seen such a gathering of players of a single sport. This is remarkable. I am sure the Odisha Government initiative will not go in vain". Renowned sand artist

Sudarsan Pattnaik Sudarsan Pattnaik (born 15 April 1977) is an Indian sand artist from Puri, Odisha. In 2014, the Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian award, for his seashore sand arts. Early life and backgrou ...

and former Indian hockey team captain, Padma Shri awardee Ignace Tirkey were the brand ambassadors of this Biju Patnaik Rural Hockey Championship that took place under the aegis of Dilip Tirkey Sports Research and Development Foundation. DTSRD has also taken initiatives to develop sports infrastructure by getting an artificial hockey pitch laid in Saunamara village of

district. This hockey field is sand-based, which required far less maintenance, especially when it came to watering the pitch. DTSRD has made efforts to infuse sports culture in youngsters of Saunamara village at

which is known as the hockey village. Hockey is a hereditary game here. Sounamara has a great contribution towards Hockey with legend Dilip Tirkey, Bikash Toppo, Bipin Kerketta, Subhadra Pradhan, Dipsan Tirkey, and Amit Rohidas coming from this village. Sundergarh has become the 'Cradle of Indian Hockey. The resource-rich region has produced great hockey players like Dilip Tirkey, Ignace Tirkey,

Prabodh Tirkey Prabodh Tirkey (born 6 October 1984) is an Indian hockey midfielder. He is a former captain of the Indian hockey team. Personal life Prabodh is the younger brother of the Indian hockey player Ignace Tirkey, who also has captained the Indian S ...

, Lazarus Barla,

Birendra Lakra Birendra Lakra (born 3 February 1990) is an Indian professional field hockey player. He represents India in men's field hockey and recently came out of retirement alongside Rupinderpal Singh and will be the Captain of Indian team in the Asia Cu ...

, Amit Rohidas, Jyoti Sunita Kullu, Sunita Lakra,

Deep Grace Ekka Deep Grace Ekka (born 3 June 1994) is an Indian female field hockey player. She plays for the Indian Women's Hockey Team. She has been selected for Arjun award in 2022. Early life Deep Grace Ekka was born on 3 June 1994 in a small village calle ...

, William Xalco, Roshan Minz among others. Sundergarh now has three hockey academies which include a sports hostel in Panposh. To further strengthen the hockey ecosystem in Sundergarh, Odisha is also planning to lay a synthetic hockey turf in each of the 17 blocks of the district

Political career

After his retirement, Dilip Tirkey, by far Odisha's most successful sportsman, was a candidate waiting to be picked up by political parties. The ruling Biju Janata Dal in 2012 nominated him as their choice for

MP. In 2012 Dilip Tirkey became a

Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha A Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha ( abbreviated: MP) is the representative of the Indian states to the one of the two houses of the Parliament of India (Rajya Sabha). Rajya Sabha MPs are elected by the electoral college of the elect ...

from Odisha representing

party. In 2014 he contested

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-p ...

elections on BJD ticket from Sundergarh constituency. In 2014 BJD appointed him as parliamentary party leader in Rajya Sabha. In 2018 Chief Minister

appointed Dilip Tirkey as Chairman of

(OTDC) to promote tourism in the state Dilip Tirkey represented the state of Odisha in the upper house of Parliament from 22 March 2012, to April 2018. Ironically, mostly quiet throughout his life, he raised his voice in the Parliament, asking a total of 389 questions, higher than the national average of 344 and the state average of 374. He did use this opportunity to campaign for a

Bharat Ratna The Bharat Ratna (; ''Jewel of India'') is the highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conferred in recognition of "exceptional service/performance of the highest orde ...

for the legendary hockey player

Dhyan Chand Major Dhyan Chand (29 August 1905 – 3 December 1979) was an Indian field hockey player, widely regarded as one of the greatest field hockey players in history. He was known for his extraordinary ball control and goal-scoring feats, in a ...

Sports Administrator

In 2021 Dilip Tirkey was appointed as the chairman of newly formed Ad hoc Committee to manage the sport of Hockey in Odisha. He also served as Chairman of Odisha Hockey Promotion Council. In 2022 he became the first player to head

. He was elected unopposed as the new president of

for a tenure of four years.

Golf

Being 'The Wall of Indian hockey' for long Dilip Tirkey turned professional in

Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

in 2020, made his debut at the Golconda Masters 2020 He featured in the Qualifying School in Ahmedabad and then competed at the Golconda Masters in Hyderabad, and the Players Championship in Bengaluru.

In Popular Culture

In 2010 Dilip Tirkey made his acting debut in

Cinema of Odisha The Odia film industry, colloquially known as Ollywood, is the Odia language Indian film industry, based in Bhubaneshwar and Cuttack in Odisha, India. The name Ollywood is a portmanteau of the words Odia and Hollywood. Industry In 1974, the ...

by playing a role in Ollywood movie Toro Moro Katha Heba Chup Chap. He had another Odia film in pipeline named as "Kotia Swapna". In 2018 a

Biographical film A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudra ...

, Biopic on Dilip Tirkey was declared. Actor turned politician

Anubhav Mohanty Anubhav Mohanty (born 24 December 1981) is an Indian actor, film producer, television personality and politician who is known for his work in Odia-language films. Career Mohanty started his career by first appearing in Odia music videos before ...

was supposed to play the role of Dilip Tirkey in this Biopic. In 2014 a thesis titled "Dilip Tirkey – The Wall of Defence in Field Hockey" was submitted by a scholar of Lakshmibai National Institute of Physical Education for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Physical Education. In 2019 Dilip Tirkey was listed in the Odisha Power List: Top 50 High & Mighty. Captain of Indian Hockey Team Amit Rohidas whose inspiration is Dilip Tirkey had commented that "Dilip Tirkey has inspired my village to look at Hockey as engine of change". In 2005 and 2006, Dilip Tirkey was invited by the club Klein Zwitserland to play in the Dutch field Hockey League, one of the game's most competitive leagues in the world. Dilip Tirkey endorsed a regional Odia cable network "Ortel Communications" as its brand ambassador. He was also brand ambassador for a chain of stores run by the state-run handloom cooperative. In

Odisha Premier League Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of Sch ...

(OPL) a professional Twenty-20 cricket tournament of the

Odisha Cricket Association Odisha Cricket Association (abbreviated OCA) is the governing body of the Cricket activities in the Odisha state of India and the Odisha cricket team. It was formed in the year of 1961 and its headquarters is in Cuttack Barabati Stadium Complex. ...

, Dilip Tirkey was the Brand Ambassador of Cricket team Bhubaneswar Jaguars. Dilip Tirkey was the chief mentor, tehcnical director and advisor of

Kalinga Lancers Kalinga Lancers (abbreviated as KAL) is a field hockey team based in Bhubaneswar, Odisha that plays in the Hockey India League. It is jointly owned by Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO) and Mahanadi Coalfield Limi ...

a field hockey team that became Champions in the 2017 edition of

Hockey India League Hockey India League (HIL), known as the Coal India Hockey India League is a professional field hockey league in India. The league is organized by Hockey India, the governing body for the sport in India. HIL, along with the Indian Premier League ...

Awards and honours

Padma Shree Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is confer ...

, 2004 *

Arjun Award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjuna, one ...

, 2002 *

Ekalavya Award The Ekalavya Award is given by the several state government including Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana etc. The award is given to native players for outstanding performance in sports or even education by few states like Rajasthan Rajasthan ...

, 1996 *

ONGC The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is a central public sector undertaking under the ownership of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India. It is headquartered in New Delhi. ONGC was founded on 14 August 1956 by the ...

-Hockey Year Book Award, 1998 *

Biju Patnaik Bijayananda Patnaik (5 March 1916 – 17 April 1997) was an Indian politician, aviator and businessman. As politician, he served twice as the Chief Minister of the State of Odisha. Early life His parents lived in Bellaguntha, Ganjam dist ...

Sportsperson of the Year Award, 2004 *

Ricoh is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational imaging and electronics company (law), company. It was founded by the now-defunct commercial division of the Riken, Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (Riken) known as the ''Riken ...

Hockey Star of the Year, 2009 * Showcase Odisha Awards, 2012 * Awarded for Excellence in Sports (Hockey) at 2nd edition of UDAAN by Zee Hindustan, 2022

Honours

*Included in the Junior World XI in 1997 *Included in the Asian XI in 2002 *Selected for World All-Star team in 2006 *Only Indian to be selected for World All-Star team in 2007 *Received the 2nd Ricoh Hockey Star of the Year Award in Bhubaneswar on 6 July 2010 *Received the honorary Doctorate from

Sambalpur University Sambalpur University is located in Burla town, of district Sambalpur, India, in the state of Odisha. Popularly known as Jyoti Vihar, it offers courses at the undergraduate and post-graduate levels. The governor of Odisha is the chancellor o ...

on 15 July 2010 *Received the Odisha Living Legend Award from Orissadiary.com on 11 Nov 2011 *In 2009 the Hockey Stadium at National Institute of Technology (NIT) Rourkela is named after Dilip Tirkey as Dilip Tirkey Hockey Stadium *A road from Sundergarh Govt. College Bridge to New Bus stand has been named as DR. DILIP TIRKEY MARG *A sports complex at Jajpur, Odisha is named after Dilip Tirkey as Dilip Tirkey Sports Complex *A biographical book named Olympic Captain Dilip Tirkey is written by senior journalist K. Arumugam *A stand & pavilion at the Saheed Sporting Cricket Ground in Bhubaneswar was named after Dilip Tirkey

Achievements

*First-ever

tribal The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to conflic ...

to get

Padma Shri Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...

Award *India's highest capped (412 matches) hockey international and second highest in the world *Only adivasi (tribal) to represent India in 3 Olympic Games *1995: 7th SAF Games at Madras (champions) *1996:

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...

at Atlanta, USA (8th place) *1997: Under-21 Test Series against Germany (winners) *1997: Under-21 Challengers Cup Tournament at Poznan, Poland (winners) *1997: Junior World Cup at Milton Keynes, England (runners-up) *1998:

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

at Bangkok (Gold medal) *1999:

Asia Cup The Asian Cricket Council Asia Cup is a men's One Day International and Twenty20 International cricket tournament. It was established in 1983 when the Asian Cricket Council was founded as a measure to promote goodwill between Asian countrie ...

at Kuala Lumpur (Bronze medal) *2000:

at Sydney (7th place) *2000: 10th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup Tournament at Kuala Lumpur (Bronze medal) *2002: Champions Trophy at Cologne, Germany (4th place), as Captain *2002:

at Busan, South Korea ( Silver medal ), as Captain *2003:

at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (champions) *2003:

Afro-Asian Games The Afro-Asian Games were the series of inter-continental multi-sport competitions, held between athletes from Asia and Africa. These Games are one-of-a-kind, since no other sporting competition brings athletes from these two continents together ...

at Hyderabad (Gold medal), as Captain *2004:

at Athens, Greece (7th place), as Captain *2011: Odisha Living Legend Award

References

External links

*
The Giant In The Shadows
Tehelka – 5 June 2010. {{DEFAULTSORT:Tirkey, Dilip 1977 births Living people Field hockey players at the 1996 Summer Olympics Field hockey players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Field hockey players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Field hockey players from Odisha Olympic field hockey players of India Indian male field hockey players Recipients of the Arjuna Award Indian Roman Catholics Recipients of the Padma Shri in sports Asian Games medalists in field hockey Biju Janata Dal politicians Recipients of the Ekalavya Award Rajya Sabha members from Odisha Candidates in the 2014 Indian general election Field hockey players at the 1998 Asian Games Field hockey players at the 2002 Asian Games Field hockey players at the 2006 Asian Games Adivasi politicians Indian sportsperson-politicians Asian Games gold medalists for India Asian Games silver medalists for India Medalists at the 1998 Asian Games Medalists at the 2002 Asian Games 1998 Men's Hockey World Cup players 2002 Men's Hockey World Cup players 2006 Men's Hockey World Cup players Male field hockey defenders HC Klein Zwitserland players Sambalpur University alumni Indian sports executives and administrators