Former Indian men’s hockey team captain Prabodh Tirkey joins Congress in Odisha

Prabodh Tirkey said the people of Talsara in Sundargarh district are ‘neglected’ and added that “tribals do not get any benefit from government schemes”.

Updated on: Sep 4, 2023, 16:58:37 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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Former Indian men’s hockey team captain Prabodh Tirkey on Monday joined the Congress party in Odisha ahead of the forthcoming assembly and Lok Sabha polls, expressing his desire to contest elections from Talsara constituency in a tribal-dominated district of the state.

Former Indian national hockey team captain Prabodh Tirkey joined Congress party in Odisha on Monday. (ANI/X)

Tirkey joined the party at a function at the Congress party’s state headquarters in Bhubaneswar attended by Odisha pradesh Congress committee (OPCC) president Sarat Pattanayak and state in-charge A Chella Kumar.

Deeply influenced by Congress leader, Rahul Gandhi, Tirkey said, adding he is ready to contest the contest the next assembly elections from the Talsara constituency in the tribal-dominated Sundargarh district.

The former national hockey team captain said the people of Talsara are ‘neglected’ adding that “tribals do not get any benefit from government schemes”.

Talsara, a Congress stronghold for more than two decades, was wrested by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the last state election.

Pattanayak, OPCC president, welcomed Tirkey’s decision to join the Congress.

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Born on October 6, 1984, the 39-year-old Tirkey made his debut at the Junior Asia Cup hockey tournament in 2000. He was the national captain of sub-junior, junior and India-A teams before taking over the captain’s mantle for the national hockey team. Tirkey was part of the team, which won the 2007 Asia Cup in Chennai.

His younger brother Ignace Tirkey led India to title in the Sub-Junior Asia Cup and figured in the Junior Asia Cup, in 2000. His last international appearance was in 2010 Asian Games.

Before Tirkey, former Indian men’s hockey team captain Dilip Tirkey (no relation) was the first hockey player in Odisha to join politics. Tirkey joined the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in 2012 and was made Rajya Sabha MP on BJD ticket between 2012 and 2018. He unsuccessfully contested against former union minister and BJP leader Jual Oram in 2014 Lok Sabha polls from Sundargarh Lok sabha seat.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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