UP Rudras’ Sudeep Chirmako – An Exciting Prospect for the Future
Odisha’s immense contribution to Indian hockey, both in terms of offering hockey infrastructure as well as a breeding ground for new talents, has been widely documented over the years. The state is known for producing deep defenders, who have gone on to serve the national team with distinction – the likes of Dilip Tirkey (current Hockey India President), Birendra Lakra, Amit Rohidas, Lazarus Barla, Ignace Tirkey have carved out their reputations on the hockey pitch across decades.
For a state not known to churn out forwards, Sudeep Chirmako is refreshingly different. The 22-year-old forward is perhaps one of the exciting young forwards, who can serve Indian hockey in the years to come. The youngster has been in fine fettle in the ongoing 6th Men’s Hockey India League at Rourkela.
Sudeep scored one of the goals of the 6th HIL against Vedanta Kalinga Lancers tumbling to reach for the ball off a long slap-in from outside the ‘D’ – it was a visual treat to watch that goal. A product of Rourkela-based Panposh Sports Hostel, the Odisha youngster was on song against Soorma Hockey Club scoring a superb goal on the half turn after his team-mate Lalit Upadhay could not get his shot in after being set up by Gurjot Singh.
Sudeep, who was a member of Indian team at the 2021 and 2023 Junior Men’s World Cup at Bhubaneshar and Kuala Lumpur, where the national team had finished fourth on both occasions, donned the mantle of a goal-creator against Soorma Hockey Club when he set up Jobanpreet Singh for the second goal after darting in from the left.
Like most hockey players in India, Sudeep’s initial hockey journey was riddled with challenges. Son of a daily wage labourer, he found the going tough in his initial hockey days. He hails from the hockey hotbed – Sundergarh that has produced illustrious players like former India captain Dilip Tirkey, Birendra Lakra, and Amit Rohidas.
Sudeep first hogged the hockey limelight at the 2018 Sub-Junior Nationals, where he captained Hockey Gangpur-Odisha – a sizzling hat-trick in the quarter-final against Chandigarh secured a passport to the Indian junior national camp. The year 2018 panned out to be a big career leap for him – he made his junior team debut for India at the 8-Nations Invitational Tournament held in Spain. Subsequently, Sudeep essayed a pivotal role in India’s bagging a silver medal at the 3rd Youth Olympic Games held in Argentina in 2018 – and to top it all, he was the top-scorer at the Youth Olympic Games with 11 goals.
Among his other achievements, Sudeep was a part of the Indian junior team that won the 2022 Sultan of Johor Cup as well as finishing runners-up in the 2019 Sultan of Johor Cup at Johor Bahru. The youngster, who decided hockey was his life at the age of 9, has been producing stellar performances for the UP Rudras – coach Paul Van Ass would hope for great things from Sudeep in the upcoming HIL games.
