Dilip Tirkey Biography 
Dilip Tirkey is a former hockey player from Sundargarh, Odisha who currently serves as a member of Rajya Sabha as one of the three Biju Janata Dal (BJD) candidates. One of the ace hockey players from India during the period, 1995-2010, he was best known for his penalty corner hit. An Olympian, he represented India in three Olympic games - 1996 Atlanta, 2000 Sydney and 2004 Athens Olympics, the only Adivasi to represent India in more than two Olympic games. Tirkey has played a total of 412 international matches for India. He is a recipient of numerous recognitions including - Padma Shree (2004), Arjun Award (2002) and Ekalavya Award (1996). He is the First-ever tribal to get Padma Shree Award.
He was born on 25 November 1977 in Sundargarh, Odisha into an Adivasi family. His father Vincent Tirkey is a former hockey player who has played for Oriya team. His twin younger brothers Anoop Tirkey and Ajit Tirkey are also hockey players. He is married to Mamta Tirkey and the couple has one child. He worked in Air India since 1996. He made his debut in 1995 against England. He was included in the Junior World XI in 1997 and got promoted to senior team in 2002. Since then he has played more than 400 matches for team India in a career spanning to 15 years.
Also served as captain of Indian team, he is one of the world class defenders. He retired from hockey on 2 May 2010. Though he was offered the position of National selector a couple of months later, he declined the offer. In 2010 he was honoured with an honorary Doctorate from Sambalpur University. Currently he is into politics.
Published: N/A
Updated: March 20, 2016
