Tata Hockey Academy launched in Jamshedpur

Tata Steel launched Naval Tata Hockey Academy at the Indian Steel and Wire Products Sports Complex near Telco on Thursday.

There are 25 boys who have made into the academy. Among the cadets, 19 are from Khunti, 4 from West Singhbhum and 3 from Seraikela-Kharsawan. The boys from Khunti are from feeder centres run by Tata Trusts in collaboration with Collectives for Integrated Livilihood Initiatives (Cini) while their counterparts from West Singhbhum and Seraikela-Kharsawan are from facilities run by Tata Steel Rural Development Society.

Tata Trusts, a philanthropic organisation that works towards the holistic advancement of communities has announced partnership with Bovelander and Bovelander B.V and One Million Hockey Legs, Netherlands, to promote hockey.

An interaction with the first batch of hockey academy cadets and their parents was organised. Sunil Bhaskaran, vice president (corporate services), Tata Steel, welcomed the first batch of cadets of the academy.

Present on the occasion were Neeraj Kant, MD, ISWP, Sandeep Singh (Ex. Captain of Indian Hockey Team) and senior officers of Tata Steel.

The setting up of a world-class Tata Hockey Academy will create the necessary institutional structure to continue to nurture Indian talent for hockey leagues and international tournaments, as also to bring back the erstwhile glory of Indian field hockey through professionalizing grassroot level hockey and bringing the global best to train domestic coaches. The project will touch 50,000 school boys and girls and aims at generating 200 high quality players at the end of a three year period.

It may be noted that Tata Trusts joined hands with Tata Steel, Bovelander and Bovelander B.V and One Million Hockey Legs, Netherlands, to promote hockey in India and galvanize the sport through professionalization of grassroots level hockey in the country last year.

Tata Trusts, Tata Steel and Bovelander Hockey Academy also launched the logo and gear of the cradle during a ceremony in JRD Sports Complex, Jamshedpur in March last year. Bovelander, known affectionately as “Boem Boem Bovelander” in his heydays, had held talks with Tata Steel in September 2015 to understand the game’s prospects in Jharkhand.

At the event in March 2016 in Jamshedpur, Floris Jan Bovelander, Olympic and World Hockey Campion, Assistant Coach to the Dutch National Team and member of the Executive Board of One Million Hockey Legs, said, “This initiative will promote hockey and sustain it as a national sport in India. We aim to train from the grass-root level and our goal is to reach million hockey legs in the 2018 World Cup which is scheduled to take place in India. Sports have an immense impact on the minds and we endeavour to impart true sportsmanship as well as the art of winning and losing. We are very happy and hopeful about this initiative.”

Source: https://www.avenuemail.in/sports/tata-hockey-academy-launched-jamshedpur/110584/