‘Indian hockey is alive because of heritage tournaments’ — Dilip Tirkey
As Indian hockey marks a century since the formation of the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) in 1925, Hockey India (HI) — which later succeeded the IHF — is reflecting not only on the sport’s illustrious past but also on new ways to elevate its standard in the country.
Coincidentally, as Indian hockey reaches this milestone, the federation is headed by three-time Olympian and former India captain Dilip Tirkey. Sportstar spoke to Tirkey — who also served as president when India retained its bronze medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics — to discuss the challenges ahead and HI’s vision for the future.
Indian hockey is celebrating its 100-year journey. How do you see this?
A lot of effort went into the formation of the IHF in the 1920s. Over the last century, Indian hockey has given a lot to the country. Our national teams have won gold medals at the 1928, 1932, 1936, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1964 and 1980 Olympics.
They have also won medals in other important events such as the World Cup, the Asian Games, the Commonwealth Games and the Asia Cup.
Post 1980, our performance declined — we couldn’t even qualify for the 2008 Olympics. But in 2020 and 2024, we won Olympic bronze medals.
How do you envision the future of HI?
We need to keep global developments in hockey in mind and move forward with our plans. Around 15–20 years ago, Holland, Germany and Australia were among the top teams. Now, countries like Belgium and Spain are doing well. We need to lift our coaching standards and strengthen the Hockey India League (HIL), which has been a great platform for young players.
We also need to identify good coaches. In our country, good players do not want to become coaches.
We want professional coaches to take up the responsibility, especially Indians who can handle the national team so that we don’t have to rely on foreigners.
There was a plan to send Indian coaches abroad.
Yes, we plan to send them abroad so that they can watch and learn. We’ve submitted a proposal to the government.
Do you think team owners withdrawing from the HIL is a challenge?
Of course. HIL is a commercial venture, and everyone wants it to be like the Indian Premier League (IPL). It’s still in its early stages, but the response so far has been good. For the first two or three years, the teams may not make a profit, which will happen slowly. We’re also planning a better league model that eases the financial burden on franchises.
Women’s hockey was doing well earlier but has dipped in performance lately. What are your plans for them?
We need to strengthen our grassroots programmes for both men and women. To build strong national teams, we must nurture players at the Under-15, U-17 and U-19 levels. The coaching programme needs to be improved to give them better exposure; only then will we get quality players.
We’re developing one where the U-17 and U-19 core groups will train together.
There will also be U-21 and India A teams. All players cannot be part of the Indian team, so there will be a chain.
We have a lot of heritage tournaments such as the Beighton Cup and the Aga Khan Cup. How can we use these to benefit our players?
Indian hockey is alive because of such tournaments. I don’t think there are so many tournaments in any other country. We need renowned players to participate in these events to attract spectators. There are so many tournaments that national players can’t feature in all of them, such as the National Championships. We’ve tried to make it compulsory for players to take part in the Nationals to maintain the standard of quality, and we’ll continue to do so.
How is HI preparing for upcoming major tournaments?
Next year, both the World Cup and the Asian Games are crucial. We’re talking to the chief coach and working on a plan.
India has expressed interest in hosting the 2036 Olympics. Have you begun planning with that in mind?
Yes, absolutely. Hockey fans will expect a strong performance. With the 2032 and 2036 Olympics coming up, we need to start work accordingly.
Published on Nov 21, 2025