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Odisha man sells business to nurture future hockey prospects

Toppo sacrificed his family life for hockey, cycling 40-50 km every day hunting for future talents and prospects, in hopes of nurturing them to success
Last Updated 17 January 2023, 17:00 IST

At 71 years old, Dominic Toppo, hailing from a remote village in Odisha's Rourkela district has spent over 2 decades, scouting, identifying and nurturing young hockey prospects for the country.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Toppo says he has been doing this for the past 22 years. This sport is all I have. I have nothing else in life, he says.

Toppo sacrificed his family life for hockey, cycling 40-50 km every day hunting for future talents and prospects, in hopes of nurturing them to success. In pursuit to continue what he claims he was "born to do", he sold his small business and even mortgaged his ancestral land.

His efforts however, have not gone in vain, as the hockey coach has produced over 100 talents at the state level, of which, 13 have represented national teams, both at the junior and senior levels. Now-retired midfielder Lilima Minz and Jiwan Kishori Toppo, who played the Junior World Cup held last year, are his disciples.

Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey says, “Coaches like Dominic are very essential to the sport’s ecosystem."

Tirkey, a former India captain added," When a young child picks up the stick for the first time, it becomes the responsibility of grassroots coaches to generate interest in them and make them strong players. At his level, Dominic has done an incredible service to the game, not least because he has produced around 13 Indian international players.”

Toppo told the publication that his father, who himself was a hockey player, was the reason behind this obsession. Starting out with sticks made from bamboo, Toppo stated his desire to make it big in the game unfortunately did not take off due to lack of proper guidance.

"So what if I can’t play, I will ensure other children do not suffer the same fate as me," said Toppo.

Prior to becoming a coach, he first owned a ration shop. And it was only after he had enough savings that he decided to take up coaching, back in 2000.

“As I focused on hockey, everything else in my life got affected. I had to shut my shop as a consequence — I was roaming here, there, everywhere. So I couldn’t do justice to the business, which was doing really well. My wife, who is no more, had been very supportive of the project, but I even sacrificed my family life. I did all this, for just one zidd (conviction) — producing international players.”

Toppo stated that he only enrolled children who had lost one or both parents and cites Mother Teresa to be the reason behind this. Though he gradually moved on to scouting players from his village and its surroundings, he said he primarily coaches women as they are "more disciplined" according to him.

A self-taught hockey player, Toppo said he learnt the nuances of the game by watching other players, both national and international.

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(Published 17 January 2023, 10:29 IST)

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