Wednesday, April 15, 2009

'The Wall' of Indian hockey to bid adieu after 2010 CWG

New Delhi, Apr 15 (PTI) At 31, Dilip Tirkey, the impregnable 'Wall' of Indian hockey may not be getting younger, but he still desires to enthrall the home crowd in next year's World Cup and Commonwealth Games before hanging up his boots.

With 404 outings, the soft-spoken defender from Sundargarh, a tribal belt in Orissa, recently became the most capped player in international circuit during the Azlan Shah tournament in Ipoh, Malaysia and Tirkey dedicated the feat to his team-mates and the national sport as a whole.

"I am very happy and it's a big honour for me because there are many big players in world hockey. I want to dedicate this honour to the Indian team and Indian hockey," Tirkey told PTI in an interview.

Although, he is eyeing to play his part in the 2010 World Cup and Commonwealth Games in the Capital before calling it a day, he seemed to take a more practical approach towards his participation in future tournaments.

"Presently, I am thinking of playing atleast one more year because we are hosting the Commonwealth Games and World Cup next year. Any player will want to play such big tournaments before his home crowd because it's a totally different feeling.
PTI