ROURKELA: The long-awaited hockey summer camp in Odisha's Rourkela started at the iconic Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium amidst the cheers of kids and parents alike.
International hockey player Peter Tirkey, extra Rourkela SP Sangram Keshari Behera, legendary hockey coach Kalu Charan Chaudhary, and representatives of the Odisha Sports department opened the hockey summer camp.
The camp is an initiative of the government of Odisha's Department of Sports & Youth Services to promote participation and instill a hockey culture in Rourkela.
The camp, which was the first of its kind, had a tremendous amount of interest, with more than 750 registrations from children between the ages of 6 and 16, both boys and girls. According to Nilesh Shetty, who is in charge of the summer camp, 465 kids were accepted in the first batch.
"Boys and girls in the age ranges of 6 to 10 and 11 to 16 have been separated into two groups. In order to provide every child the best possible attention, there is one coach for every 10 to 15 participants. The children receive instruction in ten batches throughout the day "explained he.
Basic hockey drills as well as other activities (strength & conditioning, nutrition, etc.) will be taught during the 12-day camp, which runs from April 11 to 22. Kids will have a great chance to practise collaboration and meet new friends while having fun on the field with this.
The state team coaches Lajurus Barla, Praful Tirkey and Rajen Ekka along with junior coaches will oversee the camp and aim to scout talents from the camp.
The programme will instill in the children a love of sports and exercise while also promoting hockey. The children will have the opportunity to study under the top instructors at the largest hockey arena in the world. The parents thanked the sports department for organising the camp and expressed their happiness that their children will experience the famous stadium, make friends, gain new skills, and perhaps even take up hockey in the future.
On the first day of the camp, the chidren were taken on a stadium tour that recently hosted the Men's Hockey World.
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