Birendra Lakra

Birendra Lakra (born 3 February 1990) is an Indian professional field hockey player. He represented India in Men's Hockey during the 2012 London Olympics.[1] Lakra's elder brother Bimal has played as a midfielder for India. His sister Asunta Lakra has played for India's women's hockey team and has captained the side.[2]

Birendra Lakra
Personal information
Born (1990-02-03) 3 February 1990
Rourkela, Odisha, India
Height 167 cm (5 ft 6 in)
Weight 68 kg (150 lb)
Playing position Fullback
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–present Chandigarh Comets
BPCL
–2008 Orissa Steelers
2013–2014 Ranchi Rhinos 15 (0)
2015– Ranchi Rays
National team
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012– India 172 (9)
Medal record
Men’s field hockey
Asian Games
2014 IncheonTeam
2018 JakartaTeam
Asia Cup
2013 Ipoh
Champions Trophy
2018 Breda
Asian Champions Trophy
2016 Kuantan
2012 Doha
World League
2015 RaipurTeam
2015 BhubaneswarTeam
Commonwealth Games
2014 GlasgowTeam
Last updated on: 2 March 2019

Personal life

Birendra Lakra was born on 3 February 1990 in the village of Lachchada in the Sundargarh District of Odisha, on the border with Jharkhand. He was born to a family belonging to an Oraon tribe.

Career

Birendra Lakra is a player for the Rourkela Steel Plant's SAIL Hockey Academy.[3] He was included in the Indian junior team for the first time for the Singapore tour in 2007. He represented India in the Test series against South Africa in 2012, in the Champions Challenge tournament in South Africa in 2011, at the SAAF Games at Dhaka in 2010, at the Youth Olympics at Sydney in 2009 and at the Junior World Cup at Singapore in 2009.

He scored the first goal in India's victory in the final game of the Olympic Hockey Qualifying Tournament against France. He played a key role in taking India in to the semifinals of 2012 Champions Trophy. India defeated Belgium with the help of a single goal that was produced by the pass given by Birendra Lakra to the forward. With this India reached the semifinals of the Champions Trophy for the first time in eight years.

At the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Lakra won a silver medal with India.[4]

Hockey India League

In the auction of the inaugural Hockey India League season, Lakra was bought by the Ranchi franchise for US$41,000[5] with his base price being US$9,250. The Ranchi team was named Ranchi Rhinos. The team finished first in the inaugural season and third in the 2014 season. Following disputes between the franchise and Hockey India, the team decided to pull out, after which Lakra signed with the Ranchi Rays franchise from the 2015 season.[6]

References
  1. "London Olympics 2012: Player profile".
  2. "New Indian women's hockey captain: Asunta from Lakra family of Simdega!". Bihar Days. 2011-12-01. Retrieved 2013-01-17.
  3. "Profile: Birendra Lakra". NDTV. 2012-07-20. Archived from the original on 2013-02-16. Retrieved 2013-01-17.
  4. "Glasgow 2014 - Birendra Lakra Profile". g2014results.thecgf.com. Retrieved 2019-02-25.
  5. "Hockey India League Auction: the final squads list". CNN-IBN. 2012-12-16. Retrieved 2013-01-17.
  6. "Ranchi Rhinos make way for the Ranchi Rays". austinsmith.co.za. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
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