The stage is set for what is arguably the world’s largest hockey tournament, in terms of the number of teams participating in it, to be staged in Kodagu from Monday.
With as many as 306 teams participating in the tournament this is also unique in the annals of sporting events as it is hosted by different families or clans every year and is known as Biddatanda Hockey Namme 2017 this year, as it is hosted by the Biddatanda family.
Sequestered amidst the rolling hills the picturesque district of Kodagu is better known for coffee but Kodavas also have a fervour for hockey which is evident in the successful staging of this unique event which draws nearly 1.5 lakh to 2 lakh spectators every year.
The matches will be played at the Gen. K.S. Thimayya Sports Stadium at Napoklu and the local Government PU College grounds and the tournament will be stretched for nearly a month. The organising cost of the tournament is expected to be nearly ₹1.5 crore and funds were also released by the local elected representatives.
While Pratap Simha, MP, has contributed ₹20 lakh, Veena Achaiah, MLC, has chipped in with ₹ 5 lakh. Similar contributions are in offing from the government.
The stadium has been spruced up for hosting the tournament, the grounds prepared for staging the games and the main venue has a seating capacity to accommodate nearly 20,000 people.
The genesis of the tournament could be traced to the passion for hockey of Pandananda Kuttappa who conceived the tournament in 1997 to bring the Kodava families together and he decided to harness the latent passion for hockey among the community members.
The tournament since then has gone bigger with each passing year and a record 306 teams are participating in the event this year.
Both the inauguration and the valedictory has the stamp of the colourful Kodava culture.
Olympian A.B. Subbiah will inaugurate the tournament on Monday at 10.30 a.m. and the founder of the tournament Mr. Kuttappa will be the chief guest.
