SAIL HOCKEY ACADEMY
REVIVING THE GLORIOUS HERITAGE OF HOCKEY (Back to Home)
The Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) is committed to nurturing and promoting Sports and Games across the Country. To give this commitment a concrete form and shape, the Company has been making relentless efforts.
A glowing example of SAIL’s unstinted dedication to the cause of sports is the SAIL Hockey Academy (SHA). SHA was set up by Rourkela Steel Plant in 1992, at Rourkela which is in Sundargarh, the hockey heartland of India. The prime reason for Rourkela being chosen for promoting Hockey is because of the fact that in Sundargarh for the local tribals Hockey is almost a way of life. The locals have a natural affinity for the game and many of them in the villages start playing the game with hockey sticks carved out from branches of trees.
After the establishment of SHA, in order to provide a center dedicated to the promotion of the game, an exclusive Hockey Stadium known as Biju Patnaik Hockey Stadium was also built at Rourkela. In June 2005, the most modern facility of Synthetic Turf was installed in the Stadium, thereby making the Stadium only one of this kind not only in the State of Orissa but in the region as well.
The objective of establishing SHA was honing the talent of the youth, for whom hockey is more a way of life than a mere game. The sustained effort of SHA has been to catch these talents young and to impart specialized scientific training so that they metamorphose into players of national and international stature.
Once brought into the ambit of SHA, all care is taken to ensure that the cadets completely focus on the game itself, impervious to any other issues. Free boarding and medical facilities, monthly stipend, a balanced diet, furnished accommodation, education and a state of the art gymnasium are some of the facilities provided by the SHA to the cadets. Keeping their sustained skill development in mind, the cadets are imparted coaching for 6 hours (3 hours each in the morning and evening), 6 days a week, under the watchful eyes of expert coaches. Dribbling, long and short passes, drag flicks, scooping, blocking and many such facets of contemporary Hockey are being taught here with absolute precision. The cadets also get an opportunity to play many important national level tournaments that provide them the much needed exposure.
The SAIL Hockey Academy has the provision for 32 Cadets every year, who are provided with the best possible form of training to contribute to the development of the game of Hockey in the Country. The training period is for a period of three years. So far 202 Cadets have passed out, out of which as many as 150 have been recruited by various organizations like Indian Army, Indian Railways, CRPF, BSF, Orissa Police, Indian Navy, MECON, BPCL, Govt. of Orissa, RSP etc.
In addition to the establishment of SAIL Hockey Academy, Rourkela Steel Plant also has taken several steps to promote the game in various ways :
1) Conducting a Rural Hockey Tournament every year, which provides a platform for the rural Hockey teams of the District and the adjacent areas to play Hockey matches on Synthetic Turf. This also helps in spotting the local talents in the game. In the 7th Rural Hockey Tournament conducted by RSP during September 2009, 70 such rural teams (Men & Women) had participated.
2) A Day Scholar Scheme is also in operation for the local Hockey players (Boys & Girls) who are given expert coaching in the Synthetic Turf at Biju Patnaik Hockey Stadium. They are also provided with various facilities like playing kits and also the opportunity to play for RSP. The scheme provides for 25 such players in a year.
3) RSP also patronizes major Hockey tournaments such as Jaipal Singh Gold Cup Hockey Tournament, which has been conducted for 23 times at Rourkela. The 24th edition of the tournament is expected to be conducted in April 2010.
4) A Summer Coaching Camp for a period of one month is conducted for various games including Hockey, in which the coaches of RSP impart training to the budding talents.
5) Expert Coaching Sessions are also conducted from time to time for the Cadets of SAIL Hockey Academy and Day Scholar Players with the help of outstanding Hockey personalities like Olympians Mr. Michael Kindo and Mr. Dilip Tirkey etc.
The SAIL Hockey Academy team, as a result of the sincere and systematic endeavours of players, the officials and the support and encouragement provided by RSP has carved a niche for itself in the national hockey firmament. Some of the achievements of SAIL Hockey Academy in the recent years are given below:
Tournaments won
1. U-21 National Hockey Championship at Jabalpur in 2005 - Runners Up
2. U-18 National Hockey Championship held at Guntur (A.P) From 14.4.2007 to 22.4.2007 -Champion
3. U-18 National Hockey Championship held at Hyderabad (A.P) from 8.2.2008 to 18.22008 -Champion.
4. All India Nayran Singh Memorial Hockey Tournament held at Balaghat (M.P) from 3.1.2008 to 9.1.2008. -Champion.
5. State Hockey Championship held at Cuttack from 2.4.2007 to 7.4.2007 -Runners up.
6. S.S Tomar Memorial All India Hockey Tournament held at Betul (M.P) from 14.2.2008 to 24.2.2008 -Runners up.
7. Six –A side Hockey tournament held at Bhubaneswar From 9.12.2008 to 11.12.2008. -Champion.
8. U-16 Inter SAIL Plants Hockey Champioship held at Bhilai from 17.09.2007 to 22.09.2007 -Champion.
9. Steel Trophy Hockey Tournament held at Rourkela from 10.3.2009 to 16.3.2007 -Champion.
9. All India Nayran Singh Memorial Hockey Tournament held at Balaghat (M.P) from 3.1.2009 to 14.1.2009. -Champion.
10. U-16 SAIL Inter Plants Hockey Championship held at Jindal (Raigarh) from 24.3.2009 to 31.3.2009 -Champion.
11. 7th Sardar Saheed Bhatat Singh Memorial Master Cup held at Gawalior from 1.12.2009 to 6.12.2009. - Champion.
12. Lt. Sri Vinod Khandkar All India Hockey Tournament held at Jhansi from 26.1.2010 to 31.1.2010. - Runners up
International Players Produced by SAIL Hockey Academy.
1. Sri Birendra Lakra – Represented the Country in Six Nations Challenger Cup 2007 at Singapore. He was a part of Indian contingent on its visit to Argentina (2008), Australia (2008), Malaysia (2009) and Dhaka (2010).
2. Sri Jerom Lakra – Represented the Country in the Six Nations Challenger Cup 2007 at Singapore.
3. Sri Sushil Xalxo – Represented the Country in Asia Cup (U-18) at Myanmar in 2009.
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