A tribal hockey tournament with a difference

By Qaiser Mohammad Ali in New Delhi 

A classic case of hockey getting a royal ignore was witnessed in Delhi last week. While the masses were busy watching IPL matches, a unique hockey tournament between tribal teams based in and around Delhi. As many as 38 men’s teams and a few women’s teams competed with Ekta Club winning the men’s title. 

There is a proper organisation, comprising about 38 teams and 500-odd tribal players, in the Delhi-NCR, with Sushil Lakra, a Grade A hockey umpire and an ex-player, who founded it along with retired assistant commissioner of police Emil Lakra in late 1970s. 

“We organise two annual tournaments and, importantly, we are self-financed. Each team contributes Rs 2,000 for the league and Rs 500 for the knockout tournament,” Sushil told Mail Today. According to a rough estimate, about 1.5 lakh tribals live in Delih-NCR. 

So, little wonder that when Dilip Tirkey, a former captain and one of best ever tribal hockey players, recently took oath as a Rajya Sabha member, he pulled strings to get additional passes for his childhood friends to witness to be present at the ceremony. “Some of his friends were meeting after 22 years,” said someone close to Tirkey

(This story first appeared in Mail Today)