HPC boys clinch Silver at the 7th BKSP Cup Hockey Tournament 2022 in Dhaka, Bangladesh

The Odisha Naval Tata Hockey HPC junior men’s team, on their first overseas exposure tour to Dhaka, Bangladesh finished as runners-up at the 7th BKSP Cup Hockey Tournament 2022. On their way to silver, they faced teams from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Malaysia. The 6 team invitational tournament was hosted by the Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protishtan (BKSP) which is the national sports institute of Bangladesh.

Our team, led by cadet Jasman Munda started the tournament in great fashion – scoring 29 goals in the first two games. Sadly, BKSP Red (hosts, and eventual champions) proved to be a difficult challenge, as we went down 2-1 to them. The team bounced back with wins against Kuns Combine Fighter (Bangladesh) and Penang Hockey Academy (Malaysia) to qualify for the final of the tournament.

Team manager – Suman Kumar Choudhury (left) umpires a match at the tournament

It was time to face BKSP Red for the second time this tournament and once again, the hosts prevailed. Chasing the game by 2 goals at half-time, the team managed to get one back, only for BKSP to score again in the dying minutes. The match ended 3-1 with our HPC team settling for silver

ONTH-HPC Boys win silver medal at the 7th BKSP U18 Hockey Tournament 2022

Overall, the tournament was a great learning experience, with almost all cadets stepping foot outside India for the first time in their lives. Cadet Rohit Singh ended the tournament as the highest scorer. The tournament didn’t just end up being a great experience for the players but also for our supporting staff. Our team manager Suman Kumar Choudhury, who is a certified Hockey India umpire got the opportunity to officiate a few games as well.

Now it’s time to rest and recover before we begin our preparations for the upcoming tournaments.