With the timeless lyrical Odia taglines which when translated goes on as “Come, let’s play, create history, and sing the glories of our land of hockey heritage,” the ‘Cuttack School Hockey Club’ was launched just before the Men’s Hockey World Cup in January 2023. Under its initiative, hockey clubs for girls and boys both were set up across various educational institutions in the city. Simultaneously, during the month-long World Cup Hockey Festival, several friendly matches were held in schools to rekindle the pride and passion for hockey within the school environment.
Following the World Cup, during the summer breaks of 2023, 2024, and now in 2025, the Cuttack School Hockey Club has been organizing Summer Hockey Camps starting from the first week of May. These camps have been held at school grounds including Stewart School, New Stewart School, Guru Nanak Public School and Patitapaban School.
As a result of these efforts to revive Cuttack’s hockey heritage, a major milestone was achieved when an Astroturf Hockey Training Centre was inaugurated at Sector 7 of CDA, Cuttack in February 2024 through the combined efforts of the Government of Odisha and the Naval Tata Hockey Centre. Encouragingly, like last year, in May 2025 too, arrangements are being made to offer morning and evening hockey training sessions for students of various institutions in Cuttack.
After nearly three decades, Cuttack’s boys’ hockey team and for the first time ever, girls’ hockey team participated in state-level hockey tournaments, thus marking the revival of Cuttack’s hockey legacy.The rejuvenation of school hockey in Cuttack is not merely a revival effort but a historic milestone in reclaiming the lost glory and dignity of Cuttack’s rich hockey heritage.
In this collective revival effort, local schools, Principals, Headmasters, physical education teachers, students, and organizations like the Diocese of Cuttack, Guru Nanak Dev Dantan Sahib Gurudwara, and Sikh Aid, as well as former national-level hockey players, coaches, and umpires from Cuttack, have played a vital role.
History remembers legendary hockey personalities from this land such as P.V.R. Murthy, Shrimanta Sahu, and former Ravenshaw principal Dr. Prabhat Kumar Mishra, who scouted and trained hockey talent from all corners of Cuttack and Odisha. Their efforts were evident at places like Barabati Quilla Fort, Satyabrata Stadium (Village Ground), where the Hockey Legend Major Dhyanchand once provided hockey coaching to aspiring hockey players from Cuttack and Odisha. One is reminded of the immortal line by poet Radhanath Ray: “This historic Barabati Fort, its soil had been shaped by the blood of warriors.”
To reclaim the lost grandeur and legacy of hockey in Cuttack, the Cuttack School Hockey Club beseechs all schools, teachers, students, and parents, to work together in unison and become beacons of hope. Alongside academics, sports and physical education must be given complementary importance as a time tested tool for character building among our youths. It is strongly encouraged that children engage in some form of play (between 4 PM to 6 PM). Even our students should cycle to and from school, promoting fitness, and joyfulness. In this age of excessive exposure to computers, smartphones, social media, and the growing threat of substance abuse, sports & outdoor physical activities remain one of the most effective and sustainable ways to protect and nurture our youths.
(Views are personal, Author is a serving Civil Servant can be contacted through email id – rarcscuttack@gmail.com
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