Jamshedpur, Aug. 24 : Ratan Naval Tata, chairman of Tata Trusts will formally inaugurate the Naval Tata Hockey Academy at Indian Steel and Wire Products (ISWP) Sports Complex near Telco on August 30.
Tata, Dutch hockey legend Floris Jan Bovelander and former India hockey captain Sandeep Singh will grace the occasion.
Sources informed that Chief Minister Raghubar Das is also expected to be part of the inaugural ceremony.
Officials of the company informed that the setting up of a world-class Tata Hockey Academy will create the necessary institutional structure to continue to nurture Indian talent for hockey leagues and international tournaments, as also to bring back the erstwhile glory of Indian field hockey through professionalizing grassroot level hockey and bringing the global best to train domestic coaches.
The project will touch 50,000 school boys and girls and aims at generating 200 high quality players at the end of a three year period.
The cradle has been set up with technical aid from The Netherlands-based Bovelander Hockey Academy, was awaiting inauguration after it was launched on June 13 with 26 first batch cadets from Khunti, Seraikela-Kharsawan and West Singhbhum
The cadets in the 12-14 age group are being trained by four mentors with technical inputs from Sandeep Singh and Dutch coach Warner Van der Vaget.
The partnership with BovelanderHockey Academy (BHA), founded by Floris Jan Bovelander, Olympic and World Hockey Champion will help in re-establishing the sport by matching global expertise with existing field level implementation structures and key partnerships.
Floris Jan Bovelander is also on the Executive Board of One Million Hockey Legs, whose mission is to increase the number of children and adults playing hockey and developing sustained passion for hockey by introducing the game to pre and early teenage children.
�Sports has always been an integral part of the Tata way of life. To improve the quality of life in communities it serves, Tata Steel is associated with diverse sports by supporting mainstream sporting disciplines, nurturing talent, and preserving centuries-old tribal sports,� noted an official.