Dilip Tirkey

Dilip Tirkey, born on 25 November 1977 in Sundargarh in Odisha, is an Indian former field hockey defender who later became an administrator and politician. A full back known for his penalty corner hitting and tight marking, he earned 412 international caps for India, played at the 1996, 2000 and 2004 Olympics and captained the side at the 2004 Athens Games and the 2006 World Cup. He is described as the only tribal player to appear in three Olympics and was the first tribal captain of the Indian team in the years after independence. He received the Padma Shri in 2004, sat in the Rajya Sabha from 2012 and became president of Hockey India in September 2022.