Rourkela is a planned city located in the northern district Sundargarh of Odisha, India. It is the third-largest Urban Agglomeration in Odisha after Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. It is situated about 328 kilometres (204 mi) west of state capital Bhubaneswar and is surrounded by a range of hills and encircled by the rivers Koel, Sankha, & Brahmani. The city is also popularly known as Ispat Nagar and Steel City of Odisha as well. One of the largest integrated steel plant set up with German collaboration Known as Rourkela Steel Plant, of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL). It also has one of the premier national level technical institute known as National Institutes of Technology (NIT Rourkela). Every year, on 3 March Rourkela Day has been celebrated.
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.
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.
Field hockey in India refers to two teams, the India men's national field hockey team and the India women's national field hockey team.
Dilip Tirkey, is a former Indian field hockey player, politician 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 to beat in the world and was known as "The Wall of Indian Hockey" He was an ex-captain of Indian hockey team. The first and 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 as one of the three Biju Janata Dal (BJD) candidates to the Upper House of Indian Parliament. Previously, Dilip Tirkey was working as chairman of Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (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. 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
The Hyderabad Sultans is the Indian Premier Hockey League team from Hyderabad of royal lineage, mixing tradition with modernity, they are the progressive nawabs. The squad is captained by Sardara Singh since 2007–08 edition. They were winners of first Premier Hockey League in 2005.
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.
The 2005 Premier Hockey League Season was the debut season of the Premier Hockey League, and was held in Hyderabad, India. Five teams participated in this season: Hyderabad Sultans, Sher-e-Jalandhar, Bangalore Lions, Maratha Warriors and Chennai Veerans. The title was won by Hyderabad Sultans and Chandigarh Dynamos got promotion to premier division as Chennai Veerans were relegated.
The 2006 Premier Hockey League Season was the second season of the Premier Hockey League.
The 2007 Premier Hockey League Season was the third season of the Premier Hockey League, and was played in two phases in Chennai and Chandigarh. 7 teams participated: Orissa Steelers, Sher-e-Jalandhar, Bangalore Lions, Hyderabad Sultans, Maratha Warriors, Chandigarh Dynamos and Chennai Veerans. Orissa Steelers won the title in 2007. Sher-e-Jalandhar was the runners up.
The 2008 Premier Hockey League Season was the fourth, and most recent season of the Premier Hockey League. It was won by Bangalore Hi-Fliers who took home prize money of Rs. 4 million. Chandigarh Dynamos finished second and Hyderabad Sultans ended up on third place.
Sardara Singh, sometimes referred as Sardar Singh, is an Indian former professional field hockey player and captain of the Indian national team. He usually plays the center half position. Sardara became the youngest player to captain the Indian team when he led the side at the 2008 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup. He was awarded Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award of India, in 2015. On 13 July 2016, the responsibilities of the captain were handed over from him to P. R. Sreejesh, the goalkeeper of Indian Team. On 12 September 2018, Sardara announced his retirement from international hockey. He played 314 matches during 12 years in his career.
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.
Jugraj Singh is a former Indian field hockey player whose playing career was cut short by a 2003 car accident. Born in 1983 to a Sikh family in Punjab, the former Punjab policeman was a self-coached, drag-flicker defender who later became a coach. A product of the Surjeet Singh Hockey Academy in Jalandhar and the Air India Hockey Academy in Delhi, Singh played left fullback for the Punjab Police team in Jalandhar; he made his international debut in the 2001 under-18 Asia Cup in Ipoh. Singh was not the only field-hockey player in his family; his aunt Rajbeer Kaur Rai is a former India captain and recipient of the Arjuna Award, and his brother-in-law Gurmail Singh played on the 1980 Olympic team. Singh played a pivotal role in taking Indian field hockey to a higher level by winning the Junior World Cup, the 2003 Indo-Pak Champions Trophy and the Asian Championship. He was considered to be the next Sohail Abbas by many experts; in a series against Pakistan, he performed so well that Abbas said he could see a younger version of himself in Singh.
2012 World Series Hockey better known as Bridgestone World Series Hockey, abbreviated as Bridgestone WSH, was the first season of the hockey tournament World Series Hockey, a professional league for field hockey in India. The tournament was to take place from 17 December 2011 to 22 January 2012 but later was postponed to 29 February 2012 owing to Olympic qualifiers. Eight teams took part in this competition. The opening ceremony and the first match was held at Sector 42 Stadium, Chandigarh, where Bhopal Badshahs beat Chandigarh Comets 4–3.
Somwarpet Vittalacharya Sunil is an Indian professional field hockey player who plays 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.
Jaypee Punjab Warriors is a field hockey team based in Chandigarh, Punjab that plays in the Hockey India League. It is owned by Jaypee Group. Former Australian coach Barry Dancer serves as the head coach for the team while former India player Jagbir Singh has been taken on board as an advisor and coaching staff.
India competed at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, from 19 September to 4 October 2014. After 16 years India won the gold medal in Asian Games men's hockey tournament, and consequently earned a direct berth to the 2016 Summer Olympics hockey tournament.
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.
