BIHAR hosting its second international tournament in two years is a clear sign that Hockey India is intent on expanding the sport’s visibility across the country.
Former national team captain and current Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey has repeatedly said that their goal is to popularise the sport by bringing international tournaments to different parts of the country, emphasising that watching live matches is an inspiring experience for a budding sportsperson.
It is no coincidence that the national federation has picked a time when the national teams are enjoying their best phase – in terms of success on the field and popularity off it – in decades. The Olympics success – back-to-back bronze medals – has elevated the men’s hockey team to the elite group in the Indian sports arena, helping it regain the lost respect and fame.
This revival has led to a growing number of state governments showing interest in hosting international tournaments and using hockey not only as a vehicle to promote their state, but also gain political publicity among the masses.
This eagerness has in turn fuelled Hockey India’s ambition of hosting international tournaments regularly and maintaining its influence in the Asian and world bodies.
In the last decade and a half, India has played host to all the major Asian and world-level tournaments. A year after its formation in 2009, Hockey India made its ambitions clear by bringing the men’s World Cup back to the Indian shores after a gap of 28 years.
Back then, New Delhi was the preferred venue, playing host to many tournaments over the next few years. But the federation quickly realised the logistical issues of hosting major tournaments in the national capital, with traffic congestion, rising pollution and the complications in procuring permissions from various municipal bodies proving major roadblocks.
The men’s Junior World Cup in 2013 was the last major tournament held in New Delhi.
It was then that the federation went searching for more viable options. They chose Odisha for the 2014 Champions Trophy, Chhattisgarh for the 2015 World League Final and Lucknow for the 2016 Junior World Cup. The Uttar Pradesh government also signing on as the title sponsor of the 2016 tournament started a new trend. That is when Odisha went all in – it saw the potential of using sports, particularly hockey, as a soft power tool. From 2017 to 2023, the state organised every international hockey tournament to be hosted by India, promoting itself as a sporting and tourist destination.
To its credit, Odisha did expand its sporting infrastructure during this period, not just for hockey but for other sports as well.
With Odisha also becoming Indian hockey’s biggest sponsor, it became almost impossible to loosen its grip on the sport. Many states missed out on hosting international tournaments during this period, not for lack of trying though. For years, Punjab, which has dominated the Indian team lineup for more than a decade now, tried in vain to bring international hockey to the state.
“In 2009, when I was the director of sports, we hosted the Punjab Gold Cup, a four-nation tournament, in Chandigarh,” said Pargat Singh, former India captain and sitting MLA from Jalandhar Cantonment. “That was the last tournament given to Punjab. We tried but could not because of politics in the federation and the Indian Olympic Association. Our plan was to hold international events regularly. We had developed five stadiums – in Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Bathinda and Mohali,” he added.
“We wanted to showcase our strength as a hotbed of talent. Punjab has played an important role in Indian hockey’s revival, with the sheer number of players we have provided to the national team in the last decade and a half. Winning the Junior World Cup, two Asian Games gold and two Olympics bronze medals, the state played a big part in these achievements. We wanted our youngsters to watch their state-mates play for India, so that it would inspire them. I tried even when I became an MLA and was involved with the Punjab hockey body, first as secretary and then president. But I guess the national federation did not want Punjab’s influence to grow off the field as well,” Pargat added.
Punjab, he said, was also ignored because Narinder Batra, the most influential person in hockey administration in the last decade and a half, felt threatened by him as he had been a contender for the Hockey India presidency. Pargat had contested in 2010 against Vidya Stokes, who was backed by Batra.
“We already had so many players in the team. I think they feared that the promotion from hosting international tournaments would make our influence grow even in the world body,” he said.
With a new executive body at the helm, there is renewed hope for Punjab, especially with other venues getting tournaments.
Since 2023, Hockey India has awarded two tournaments each to Jharkhand, Bihar and Tamil Nadu. “We hosted the men’s junior Nationals in Jalandhar last year after a long gap,” said Amrik Singh Powar, former India player and current general secretary of Hockey Punjab.
“We got the tournament after my predecessor raised the issue at a Hockey India meeting. They were happy with our organisation so they gave us the same tournament again this year. Now we have asked for an international tournament and there are talks ongoing about a four-nation or six-nation tournament in Jalandhar. But one of the requirements is a second turf, and work for its installation has begun. Even the Chief Minister has shown interest in hosting a tournament. Hopefully, we will get a tournament very soon,” he added.