Former Indian men’s hockey team captain Prabodh Tirkey on Monday joined the Congress.

Tirkey, who hails from Sundergarh, plans to contest from the Talasara Assembly constituency of Sundergarh district. The joining of Prabodh is likely to give a boost to the Congress cadres in the tribal-dominated areas of the state.

After joining the Congress, Tirkey said: “I am deeply influenced by Rahul Gandhi and Congress ideology. By joining the Congress, I hope to serve the people of my district as well as the state.”

Tirkey was conferred with a number of awards including the Biju Patnaik State Sports Award in 2009 for his outstanding contribution to Indian Hockey. “Tribals don’t get any benefit from government schemes,” he said.

Tirkey was part of the Indian hockey team that won the Asia Cup in Chennai in 2007.

Tirkey joined the Congress at its state headquarters in Bhubaneswar. Pradesh Congress president Sarat Kumar Pattanayak, AICC general secretary and Odisha Congress in-charge A. Chella Kumar were present at the ceremony.