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 the 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 plants 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.
Ignacious "Ignace" Tirkey is an Indian field hockey player. He plays as a fullback and has captained the Indian team.
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 2004 Men's Hockey Champions Trophy was the 26th edition of the Hockey Champions Trophy men's field hockey tournament. It was held in Lahore, Pakistan from December 4–12, 2004.
India was represented at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne by a 270-member strong contingent comprising 183 sportspersons and 77 officials. 2004 Summer Olympics silver medalist Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore was the flag bearer for India.
Gagan Ajit Singh is an Indian former field hockey player who played as a forward. He was the captain of the India national under-21 team that won the 2001 Junior World Cup. He was a member of the Indian senior national team at the 2000 Sydney and 2004 Athens Olympic Games.
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.
Arjun Halappa is a former Indian hockey player and former captain of Indian hockey team.
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.
Michael Kindo was an Indian field hockey player from the tribal belt of Jharkhand. He played at full back defender position and represented India and competed in the 1971 Men's Hockey World Cup, 1972 Summer Olympics, 1973 Men's Hockey World Cup, 1974 Asian Games, 1975 Men's Hockey World Cup. Prior to this he had competed in several local, national and regional competitions. In 1972, he became the first Adivasi sportsperson to be awarded the prestigious Arjuna Award.
Joaquim Martin Carvalho is an Indian former field hockey player, Olympian, captain of the Indian Hockey Team, and Men's National Team coach. He competed in the men's tournament at the 1984 Summer Olympics.
Sardara Singh, sometimes referred as Sardar Singh, is an Indian field hockey coach and former field hockey player. He also served as the 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.
Parattu Raveendran Sreejesh is an Indian field hockey coach and former player. He was the captain of the national team and played as a goalkeeper. Since 2024, he is the head coach of the India men's national U-21 team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest goal keepers in the history of field hockey. Sreejesh played a vital role in the Indian national team's bronze medal wins at the 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics. He won the best male goalkeeper award at the FIH Awards in 2020, 2022, and 2024.
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.
Rani Rampal is an Indian coach and former field hockey player. At the age of 15, she was the youngest in the national squad of the 2010 World Cup. She played as a forward. In her career, Rampal played 212 international matches and scored 134 goals. She also acted as a striker and doubled up as mid-fielder. In 2020, the Government of India honoured her with the Padma Shri.
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 men's tournament of field hockey at the 2018 Asian Games, held in Jakarta, Indonesia, winning a bronze medal. In the 2020 Tokyo Olympics also, he also served as the vice-captain of Indian team.
The Hockey Association of Odisha is the governing body of field hockey in the Odisha state of India and the Odisha field hockey team. Hockey Association of Odisha is the state member unit of Hockey India. The Odisha hockey team has maintained its dominance in field hockey in India as the most successful team of Hockey India Championships. Hockey Odisha has given India some of its best players including Anupa Barla, Binita Toppo, Birendra Lakra, Dilip Tirkey, Ignace Tirkey, Jyoti Sunita Kullu, Lazarus Barla, Prabodh Tirkey, Subhadra Pradhan and Amit Rohidas. Odisha is now the capital of Indian hockey.
Manpreet Singh Pawar is an Indian field hockey player and a four time Olympian from Punjab. He led the Indian field hockey team to the bronze medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. He plays as a halfback.
Dipsan Tirkey is an Indian field hockey player who plays as a defender. He was the vice-captain of the Indian squad that won the 2016 Men's Hockey Junior World Cup.
Tirkey is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
