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Hockey India distributes equipment to State Member Units and Hockey Academies

The move represents another step that the Hockey India Executive Board has taken to encourage the growth of the sport.

By Pushkar Pandey | Apr 5, 2023 | 2 Min Read

Hockey India made an announcement to support the growth of the sport across India. They distributed more than 11,000 hockey sticks, more than 3,300 hockey balls, and additional necessary playing safety gear to its State Member Units and Hockey Academies Members. The move represents another step that the Hockey India Executive Board has taken to encourage the growth of the sport. All India Hockey Member Units and Selected Academy are included in the initiative. A press release from Hockey India states that members will receive hockey sticks and balls.

Hockey India President Dilip Tirkey stated that the initiative would help to increase hockey’s accessibility for the nation’s aspiring players. We want to make certain that aspiring hockey players across the nation start out with the right gear. The decision has been made to provide the member units and numerous hockey academies throughout the nation with the necessary tools to aid in promoting player development throughout all of India.”

Speaking about the initiative, Hockey India Secretary General Bhola Nath Singh said, “We want to make sure that all Hockey India member units across all states and Union Territories, as well as hockey academies in India, have access to all they need to work towards the sport’s globalization. All over the nation, there is a shortage of talent, our goal is to give those people access to high-quality tools that will aid in their development in the early stages of their careers.”

India’s recent performance

In a recent event India with a 5-2 victory over South Africa on Saturday at the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela. The Hockey team recently concluded its tournament at the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup 2023 on a positive note. As a result of the victory, South Africa was ranked 11th. Whereas India was placed ninth at the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup 2023. After losing to New Zealand in the crossovers for the quarterfinals, India defeated Japan 8-0 in their previous classification match. Abhishek, a forward from India, scored the game’s first goal against Japan in the fifth minute. In the match versus South Africa, he was also named player of the match.

India came in second place behind England in Pool D of the previous hockey World Cup 2023. India was defeated by New Zealand in a penalty shootout in the crossover game after regulation time ended 3-3. This prevented India from advancing directly to the quarterfinals. At 3-1 in the third period, India was in the lead. India, then captained by Manpreet Singh, had finished first in the group stage of the 2018 FIH Hockey Men’s World Cup. This world cup also featured eventual champions Belgium. Despite leading 1-0 at one point, they were eliminated after a close 2-1 loss to the Netherlands in the quarterfinals.