Hockey Te Charcha

For the 40th episode of Hockey Te Charcha, we spoke with Hardik Singh, the flamboyant midfielder and Vice Captain of the Indian Men's Hockey Team. He was instrumental in India's Bronze medal feat at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. The 24-year-old has risen through the ranks and has represented India in a number of significant events over the last five to six years, including the 2018 Men's Hockey World Cup and the 2023 Men's Hockey World Cup.

Hardik also bagged the Hockey India Balbir Singh Sr. Award for Player of the Year 2022 for his outstanding performance. In this episode, the youngster opens up on how he always dreamt of winning the prestigious award and how hard work helped him overcome the setbacks in his career including his untimely exit from the 2023 Hockey World Cup in Odisha due to an injury. Tune in for more from the star player.

In the most recent episode of Hockey Te Charcha, we spoke candidly with Gurbux Singh, widely regarded as one of the greatest hockey players in history.
He played a crucial role in India’s Gold medal feat at the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games. He was also part of the Indian Team that won Gold in the Asian Games in 1966 and was truly part of what can be called the ‘second golden era’ of Indian hockey as they dominated the 60’s after India had successively won Gold in the Olympic Games up until the 1960 Olympics ended their campaign with a Bronze for the first time since independence.  
He served the sport in various capacities and was befittingly honoured with the Hockey India Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award 2022.
In this episode, he reminisces about his playing days and thanks Hockey India for carrying on the legacy of the sport by putting the right development programmes in place to bring back the sport's golden era. Tune in for more from the legend.

In this latest episode of Hockey Te Charcha, we caught up with the visionary Hockey India President Padma Shri awardee Dr Dilip Tirkey. As a former India Captain with over 400 international caps, Tirkey spoke eloquently about his plans to revive and restructure the domestic circuit in the country, with special emphasis on U17 and U19 age groups.

In this freewheeling conversation, he shares his thoughts on introducing a new system that is not only beneficial for the athletes but will also help the selection committees and the administration immensely.

He also expressed his feeling of immense pride in the immaculate execution of the FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela hosted in two world class venues with packed audiences for India and Non-India matches. Tirkey spoke candidly about his new innings as the President of Hockey India and dealing with the pressure of living up to the expectations.

To listen to more on the former India Captain's vision for India hockey, tune into this latest episode of Hockey Te Charcha.

In this episode of Hockey Te Charcha, we speak with Indian Men’s Hockey Team midfielder Shamsher Singh, who hails from Punjab, and is looking forward to the start of  FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup Bhubaneswar-Rourkela 2023.

Shamsher, who has played 47 games for the Indian Men’s Hockey Team, said that the team is excited to play their first game at the new 'jewel' of hockey, the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela. The 25-year-old was also pleased to see the enthusiasm among fans in Rourkela, where match tickets were sold out within a week of the Box Office opening outside the stadium.

In this latest episode of Hockey Te Charcha, we caught up with the dynamic Indian Men’s Hockey Team forward Lalit Upadhyay, who is looking forward to the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar and Rourkela. If things go well, Lalit will be playing his third consecutive World Cup and his second on home soil.

Lalit, who made his debut for the Indian Men’s Hockey Team at the 2014 World Cup, shared his thoughts on his journey from his birthplace in Banaras- Varanasi to winning the historic Bronze medal at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. He recalls returning home to rousing welcome after winning the Olympic medal, as he is only the second player from Varanasi after the great hockey wizard Mohd Shahid to win a medal at the prestigious Games.

Speaking candidly, he emphasized that the team will use the confidence boost from the Tokyo Olympics to put on a show for their supporters in Odisha. The experienced forward also talks about his pride in representing hockey from Uttar Pradesh and the specialty of hockey nursery in Karampur which has produced several international players over the years.

In this latest episode of Hockey Te Charcha, we speak with the Indian Men’s Hockey Team midfielder Sumit, who hails from Haryana, and is looking forward to the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar and Rourkela.

Sumit, who has won numerous medals with the Indian Men’s Hockey Team, said that he is working hard to get into the squad for the upcoming mega-event. The defender reflected on his tough childhood which made him the strong sportsperson he is today. He also spoke about dealing with the loss of his mother in 2020 and despite the circumstances how he never lost focus to succeed at the Olympic Games.

A Bronze medallist at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Sumit also spoke about the preparations of the Indian Men’s Hockey Team for the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar and Rourkela.

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In this episode of Hockey Te Charcha, we speak with Indian Men’s Hockey Team defender Amit Rohidas, who hails from Odisha, and is keenly looking forward to the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar and Rourkela.

Amit, who has played more than 100 games for the Indian Men’s Hockey Team, said that playing on home turf is a great feeling and praised the fans for being a source of motivation for him and his teammates. The defender also added that many people have already told him about how they’re eagerly awaiting the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar and Rourkela.

A Bronze medallist at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Amit explained that the Indian Men’s Hockey Team are taking their preparations for the showpiece event in January step by step.

In this episode of Hockey Te Charcha, we speak with the Indian Men's Hockey Team goalkeeper Krishan B Pathak. The player who has been part of the national setup since his junior days talked about his hockey journey in which he has faced a lot of adversities.

Pathak highlighted the importance of supportive teammates in his hockey journey and credits the team's camaraderie their recent success and believes this will be the team's plus point as they prepare for the prestigious FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup Bhubaneswar-Rourkela 2023 in January. Krishan also spoke about his experience playing alongside the very experienced PR Sreejesh which in turn helped him improve his game drastically.

Tune into this episode of Hockey Te Charcha to find out more about Krishan B Pathak.

In this episode of Hockey Te Charcha, we speak with Indian Men’s Hockey Team midfielder Hardik Singh, who is looking forward to being part of his second World Cup during the FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup Bhubaneswar-Rourkela 2023 in January.  

Hardik, who is one of the mainstays in the Indian Men’s Hockey Team, comes from a family of hockey players and has loved the sport from the time he was a young boy. 

An Arjuna Awardee in 2021, Hardik explained that the team’s preparation are in full swing ahead of the all-important FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup Bhubaneswar-Rourkela 2023.  

Understandably, Hardik is keen to make an impact and help the Indian Men’s Hockey Team produce a momentous performance in January, and cheering him on will be his whole family, who he says are already making travel plans for the marquee event. 

In this episode number 31 of Hockey Te Charcha, we speak with the Indian Men's Hockey Team's rising star and drag-flicker Jugraj Singh. The player, who was part of the memorable Silver Medal winning campaign at the Commonwealth Games 2022 held in Birmingham in which he chipped in with 3 goals. The drag-flicker opened up about his journey from his humble origins to the senior men’s squad and how he had to overcome multiple adversities to establish himself.

Jugraj Singh highlighted the sacrifices of his father in his hockey journey and credited him for his success on the hockey field. Jugraj also spoke about his experience with the Indian team and how he had to adapt to the highly professional setup at Hockey India, which in turn helped him improve his game drastically.

The Defender shared anecdotes from his journey to the senior Indian Men’s Hockey team and the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Tune into this episode 31 of Hockey Te Charcha to find out more about Jugraj Singh.