Birendra Lakra (born 3 February 1990) is a retired Indian professional field hockey player. He represented India in Men's Hockey during the 2012 London Olympics.[1] In Tokyo 2020, he has been selected as vice captain of Indian team. 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 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[clarification needed]. 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]
