PINAKI MAJUMDAR
Jamshedpur, July 31: Seven cadets from the Hockey Ace Foundation’s academies have been selected for the prestigious Sub-Junior India Camp.
These young athletes hail from two of the academies – the Naval Tata Hockey Academy (NTHA) in Jamshedpur and the Odisha Naval Tata Hockey High Performance Centre (ONTHHPC) in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
The Sub-Junior India camp is scheduled to take place in Rourkela from August 21 to 30.
The seven cadets who secured their spot in the camp are Rohit Tirkey, a forward from Khunti, who was also chosen for the National Center of Excellence- Lucknow scholarship.
Rohit Pradhan, a midfielder from Simdega, who earned the title of “Best Player of Match” during the Sub-Junior Nationals held in Rourkela last month.
Ghuran Lohra, a midfielder from Simdega, who joined NTHA through the Tata Trust-Cini Regional Development Center.
Pradeep Mandal, a defender from Assam, who received the “Best Player Award” during the Sub-Junior Nationals semifinals.
Yojin Minz, an attacker from Sundargarh, who received the Best Player Award twice in the Sub-Junior National Championship.
Rohit Kullu, a defender from Sundargarh, known for his exceptional drag-flicking skills.
Suresh Sharma, a midfielder from Manipur, specializing as a drag flicker.
“We are delighted that seven of our talented cadets have been shortlisted for the Sub-Junior India Camp,” said Chanakya Chaudhary, chairman of Hockey Ace Foundation adding that this achievement reflects the hard work and dedication of both the coaches and the cadets.
The Sub-Junior India Camp presents a golden opportunity for young athletes to showcase their skills and impress national selectors. They will have the privilege of training alongside the country’s finest players and learning from top-notch coaches.
The Naval Tata Hockey Academy in Jamshedpur, established in 2017 through the collaboration of Tata Steel and Tata Trust, accommodates 52 cadets aged between 13 to 18 years.
It provides comprehensive development for each cadet and benefits from the support of a foreign technical partner and Sports Science guidance from the Tata Steel Sports Department.
The Odisha Naval Tata Hockey High Performance Centre (ONTHHPC) is a state-of-the-art high-performance unit nurturing field hockey talent at the highest level.
Located at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, the academy was formed in August 2019 in collaboration with the Government of Odisha, Tata Steel and Tata Trusts (Hockey Ace Foundation).
The HPC caters to both girls and boys cadets in a residential program and has already produced six junior international women players, one of whom, Jyoti Chattri, is currently a member of the Indian senior women’s hockey team.
