412 caps from a village they still call hockey country.
Dilip Tirkey was born on 25 November 1977 in Saunamara, Sundargarh district, Odisha, in a Kurukh (Oraon) family. Vincent Tirkey, his father, played for the CRPF. Dilip debuted for India against England in 1995, a full-back known for penalty-corner work. He wore the national shirt 412 times, including Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 — captain in Greece. In 2002 he became the first tribal captain of the Indian team after Independence. Padma Shri followed in 2004, the first for a tribal sportsperson in that list. He left international hockey in 2010. Rajya Sabha, 2012–2018. Hockey India president from 23 September 2022, the first international player in that chair. This page is a public record, not a manifesto and not hockeyindia.org.