The Kurukh or Oraon, also spelt Uraon or Dhangad, are a Dravidian speaking ethnolinguistic group inhabiting Chhotanagpur Plateau and adjoining areas - mainly the Indian states of Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and West Bengal. They predominantly speak Kurukh as their native language, which belongs to the Dravidian language family. In Maharashtra, Oraon people are also known as Dhangad.
The Chennai Veerans was a Tier-1 level field hockey team Premier Hockey League in India. In the inaugural cup in 2005, the Chennai Veerans led by Ignace Tirkey finished at the bottom of the group with two wins and six losses.
The 2003 Men's Hockey Champions Trophy was the 25th edition of the Hockey Champions Trophy men's field hockey tournament. It was held in Amstelveen, Netherlands from August 16–24, 2003.
The 2002 Men's Hockey Champions Trophy was the 24th edition of the Hockey Champions Trophy men's field hockey tournament. It took place at the Kölner Stadtwald in Cologne, Germany. The event was held from August 31 – September 8, 2002.
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 to be a part of the International Hockey Federation.
Dilip Tirkey, is a former captain of the Indian field hockey team, politician and sports administrator. He was awarded Padma Shree in 2004. Currently he is the president of Hockey India.
The Orissa Steelers are the winners of the Premier Hockey League 2007, India's former national level field hockey tournament. The originally proposed name for the team was Rourkela Steelers, after the city which is said to be the hockey Capital of Orissa.
The Bangalore Hi-Fliers were a Premier Hockey League (PHL) team, based in Bangalore, Karnataka. Initially known as the Bangalore Lions, the team was led by Tushar Khandekar. The Hi-Fliers won the PHL twice, in 2006 and in 2008, more than any other team.
India competed at the 2002 Asian Games held in Busan, South Korea. India was ranked 8th with 10 gold medals. Sunita Rani's gold and bronze medals, which she won in the women's 1,500 m and 5,000 m was reinstated after she appealed in the dope scam. India moved up to the seventh spot from the previous eighth spot in the medals table.
Rajpal Singh is a former captain of India national hockey team. He plays from the forward position. He is an Arjuna Award winner. He is a graduate from Chandigarh’s SGGS Khalsa College and a product of Shivalik Public School. Rajpal Singh hogged the limelight with a sterling show at his first international outing at the 2001 Youth Asia Cup. India won the Cup at Ipoh, Malaysia, where he was the ‘Player of the Tournament’, with seven goals. Rajpal Singh was in the news before the home world cup, as he unitedly led his team's fight for its rights with the hockey administrators.
Somwarpet Vittalacharya Sunil is an Indian former field hockey player who played for the Indian national team. He represented India during the 2012 London Olympics and won silver with them at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. He received the Arjun Award in 2017.
Birendra Lakra is an Indian former field hockey player. He represented India in men's field hockey and recently came out of retirement alongside Rupinderpal Singh and captained the Indian team in the Asia Cup held in Jakarta, Indonesia to a bronze medal. In the 2020 Tokyo Olympics also, he also served as the vice-captain of Indian team.
Rupinder Pal Singh is a professional field hockey player, who represents India in the Indian Hockey Team. He plays as a fullback and is known for his abilities as one of the best drag flickers in the world. He represented India in the 2014 Commonwealth Games at Glasgow, 2014 Asian Games at Incheon, 2016 Olympic Games held at Rio de Janeiro, and at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, held at Gold Coast, Australia. He was part of the Indian hockey team that won a bronze medal at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Sunita Lakra is an Indian field hockey player. Lakra has represented her country by being capped in the India women's national field hockey team. Lakra announced her retirement from hockey through Hockey India on 2 January 2020.
Namita Toppo is an Indian former field hockey player. She hails from Sundargarh District of Odisha. On 27 December 2020, she was conferred with the 28th Eklavya award. Toppo was honoured for her performance from April 1, 2018 to March 31, 2020 at both national and international levels.
Nikki Pradhan is an Indian field hockey player and a member of the Indian national team. Pradhan was the first female Hockey player from Jharkhand who represented India in the Olympics. Pradhan was included in a 16-member squad for Rio Olympics, which also marked the return of Indian women's hockey to the Olympics after 36 years after a stellar show at the Hockey World League Semifinals in 2015. Pradhan was the midfielder of the Indian Women's Hockey team. Her selection to the team made her the sixth hockey player from Jharkhand to play in Olympics, bracketing her with Jaipal Singh Munda (1928), Michael Kido (1972), Sylvanus Dungdung (1980), Ajeet Lakra (1992) and Manohar Topno (1984).
Bimal is an Indian or Nepalese given name, mostly masculine. Notable people of this name include:
Lakra/Lakda is an Indian family name.
Shilanand Lakra is an Indian field hockey player who plays as a forward for the Indian national team.
