Bhubaneswar: Odisha has been synonymous with hockey for decades. The state, especially Sundargarh district, has produced dozens of players who have represented the country and made India proud with their exceptional skills. Over the last decade, Odisha’s connection with Indian hockey deepened further as the state government has been sponsoring the national hockey teams (senior and junior, men and women).
What is the formula behind Odisha’s abundant hockey talent?
Young boys and girls playing hockey, be it in schools or open playgrounds, is a common sight in Odisha. If spotting talent from the grassroots level is the first task, transforming that potential into a meaningful skill represents a harder challenge.
It takes sustained physical training, quality coaching and competitive exposure for talented youngsters to develop skills that can help them attain high standards and make a career out of the sport.
To achieve that, an ecosystem is needed that will support young athletes at every stage of their journey.
The Odisha Naval Tata Hockey High Performance Centre (ONTHHPC) has been working to build such an ecosystem, connecting grassroots participation with high-performance training and opportunities in competitive hockey and beyond.
Established in 2019 under the aegis of the Hockey Ace Foundation, a joint venture of Tata Steel and Tata Trusts, ONTHHPC has expanded its development programmes for both girls and boys across the state.
Dhenkanal’s Bishnupriya Sethy is one of the beneficiaries who vouched for the high-quality, scientific training provided by professional coaches and support staff.
“As a goalkeeper, I received specialised training, which helped me improve my skills,” she said.
The centre also takes care of her education. “I passed the Class X examination this year, securing 70 percent marks,” Bishnupriya informed.
Development model
The journey towards high-performance hockey begins much before players enter the Centre. ONTHHPC’s development model connects grassroots training centres with sports hostels and, subsequently, specialised residential training.
Young talents, between 8 and 16 years of age, begin by learning the fundamentals of hockey and participating in age-group competitions. As they progress, identified talent move into sports hostels for further training and competitive exposure. Players demonstrating the potential to compete at higher levels are subsequently considered for induction into ONTHHPC’s junior high-performance programme.
As many as 290 players have secured selection in different sports hostels through this development programme since 2020.
At the high-performance level, training focuses on technical, tactical and physical development, supported by specialised camps, workshops and opportunities to learn from experienced teams and experts. The emphasis is on preparing players for the demands of national-level competition.
Since its inception, 22 ONTHHPC cadets have been selected for Junior India camps, while 21 players (15 boys and 6 girls) have got opportunities to play for different franchises in the Hockey India League. Also, 23 players have found employment with various organisations and departments across the country.
Success stories
Three of its cadets – Vivek Lakra, Anmol Ekka and Engil Harsharani Minz – played in the Junior Asia Cup Hockey championships two months ago in China, helping India retain the Men’s and Women’s titles.
Vivek, who will turn 19 only next month, was adjudged Best Goalkeeper of the Junior Asia Cup.
The boy who once had to borrow playing kits from fellow players due to financial constraints, reaped rich rewards in the Hockey India League auction last year. Starting with a base price of Rs 2 lakh, Vivek was purchased by Shrachi Bengal Tigers for a whopping Rs 23 lakh. It made Vivek the costliest player in the Junior/young Indian players’ category.
Anmol has been a regular member of the Indian junior team, the icing on the cake being the Junio Asia Cup. He scored 17 goals to emerge as the highest scorer in the tournament.
Twenty-year-old Engil Minz, a goalkeeper, was part of the Indian women’s team that finished 10th in the Junior Hockey World Cup in Chile last December. Brushing off that disappointment, the gold medal in the Junior Asia Cup would have tasted especially sweet for the Odisha girl and her other teammates.
ONTHHPC’s contribution is reflected in its competitive achievements. Its grassroots U-14 boys’ teams won the All India K D Singh Babu tournament in 2025 and 2026, while the combined U-16 boys’ team finished runners-up at the SNBP tournament in 2025.
The ONTHHPC junior girls’ team clinched back-to-back titles at the Hockey India Junior Women Academy Championship in 2025 and 2026. Recently, nine ONTHHPC cadets and members of the coaching and support staff helped Odisha win the 16th Hockey India Junior Men National Championship in Coimbatore.
