Nilakanta is the son of Sh Inaocha and Sh (O) Kunjarani of Kontha Ahallup Makha Leikai in Imphal East District. Since childhood, he had struggled in the right way to give his best to hockey.
TFM Desk
Manipur’s Shanglakpam Nilakanta Sharma who has been selected to be part of the Indian men’s hockey team for the Tokyo Olympics 2021 (from July 23 to August 8) is all set to offer his best and perform well in each of the matches he would be playing. The ace midfielder Nilakanta Sharma is among the 10 Olympic debutants in the 16-member Indian men’s hockey team.
Nilakanta is the son of Sh Inaocha and Sh (O) Kunjarani of Kontha Ahallup Makha Leikai in Imphal East District. Since childhood, he had struggled in the right way to give his best to hockey. He was part of the Indian squad that won the 2016 Men’s Hockey Junior World Cup.
He has been holding the stick since 2003. He played for Posterior Hockey Academy Manipur till 2011. Later he went to Bhopal Hockey Academy and was selected for the national junior team for the 2014 Sultan of Johor Cup.
In his early days, he joined Posterior Hockey Academy Manipur along with Kothajit and Chinglensana, two other players who had represented India. He played as a midfielder and is known for “Y dodge” to the opposite defenders.
Nilakanta was selected for senior national team debut in July of 2017, against Belgium during India’s Europe tour and he also represented India A which participated in Australia Hockey League, later, in the year.
The midfielder represented lndia in the following international tournaments and test matches:
1. He was part of the Indian squad that won the 2016 Men’s Hockey Junior World Cup.
2. 4 Nations invitational Tournament (Men) at Hamilton, New Zealand from 14 to 28 January 2018. Indian Team won Silver Medal.
3. 27th Sultan of Azlan Shah Cup at lpoh, Perak, Malaysia from 03 to 10 March 2018.
4. Hero Asian Champions Trophy 2018 (Men) at Muscat, Oman from 18 to 28 October 2018. Indian Team won Gold Medal.
5. Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup at Bhubaneswar, India from 28 November to 16 December 2018.
6. 28th Sultan of Azlan Shah Cup at Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia from 23 to 30 March 2019. Indian Team won Silver Medal.
7. Australia Tour (Sr Men) at Perth, Australia from 08 to 17 May 2019.
8. FIH Men’s Series Finals Bhubaneswar Odisha 2019 at Bhubaneswar, India from 06 to 15 June 2019. Indian Team won the Gold Medal.
9. Tokyo 2020 Olympics Test Event for Hockey (Sr. Men) at Tokyo, Japan from ’17 to 21 August 2019. Indian Team won the Gold Medal.
10. Belgium Tour (Sr Men) at Antwerp, Belgium from 26 September to 03 October 2019. 10. FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers Odisha (Men) at Bhubaneswar, India from 01 to 02 November 2019. (Winners)
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