“Captaining the Indian Men’s Hockey Team was a good experience,” says former India defender and Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey

The FIH Hockey World Cup is only a few days away, the excitement is on the rise and fans are ready to cheer for their favourite players. Ahead of the World Cup, Hockey India President and former India player, Dilip Tirkey shared anecdotes from his time and how donning the India jersey was a big moment and a childhood dream come true for him.

The 2004 Padma Shri winner who was also the part of the Indian team that featured in the World Cup and also at the Olympics. He shared his first World Cup experience and the nervousness around the occasion and how he got better with every match in the 1998 Hockey World Cup.

“I played my first World Cup in 1998. It was a matter of immense pride for me that I was part of the World Cup team. It was a great experience for me at that time. I remember, there was a bit of nervousness about how I would perform, alongside the seniors. I played all the games in that edition of the tournament, and it was a really nice experience for me,” Tirkey said.

The former India defender captained India at the 1996 Champions Trophy in Chennai and it was obviously a big moment for him in his career. He shared how he had captained India at the Olympics, World Cup and even at the Asian Games.

“Captaining the Indian Men’s Hockey Team was a good experience no doubt, and we played some good hockey as well. I was Captain at an Olympics, World Cup and even an Asian Games, and it was definitely a very proud experience,” Tirkey added.

He was apart of the Indian team in three Summer Olympics and captained India in Athens 2004. He highlighted how the entire hockey fraternity was so proud and happy that the Indian Men’s Hockey team won the bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He expects a similar feat to be achieved at the FIH Hockey World Cup as India wil be in their home ground looking to make the most of it.