Trainees from the famous Panposh academy take notes from the stands during India’s Hockey World Cup win over Spain

He jotted down each move: the way Akashdeep dribbled past the defence, and when he used his skill and in what part of the pitch; the manner in which Manpreet orchestrated play from the centre and his runs during penalty corners to close down the drag-flicker’s angles.

“I am very eager to learn” Barwa said, speaking to The Indian Express hours earlier after a practice session under the crisp morning sun at the Panposh hockey academy.

The budding midfielder wasn’t alone in the stands doing his “homework”. There were a total of 180 young players from the fabled academy who watched for real the players whom they’ve idolised all their lives, and learned from them.

“Events like these can inspire a generation of players,” said Lazarus Barla, a former India international who is in charge of the academy, which has given the country some of its finest players, including its most-capped international and current Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey.

“But it’s also a great learning experience. We have to make the most of the World Cup that’s happening in our own backyard,” Barla said.

It’s quite literally their backyard. Panposh is barely 3 km from the new Birsa Munda Stadium, which was constructed primarily for the World Cup. And on the morning of the World Cup, there was an unmistakable buzz here. Throughout this week, a special training session was held for players from 50 Rourkela schools, focusing on dribbling, jabs and tackles — the skills usually associated with players from this hockey belt.

A calm mind is another trait that defines players from here, perhaps because of the breathtaking location of the training facility. Situated slightly uphill with a river on one side and a railway track on the other, the state started this academy and hostel scheme in 1985 on land that was once a rice field.

It got its first artificial turf 30 years ago which, after all the wear and tear, was finally replaced last Monday in a legacy initiative linked to the World Cup. There are now two shiny blue turfs here, giving Rourkela the distinction of being a rare hockey spot with four artificial turfs within a radius of 3 km.

The starry-eyed teenagers at Panposh, many of whom come from Sundergarh, never imagined that they would be in this position. “Even in our country, not everyone knows Rourkela or Sundergarh. How could we imagine that a World Cup would be played here?” says 22-year-old Jyoti Kumari Toppo from Rajgangpur. “So all this feels like a dream.”

Toppo says she, like everyone else in Rourkela, had been waiting for this day ever since Rourkela was announced as a co-host, along with Bhubaneswar, for the January 13-29 tournament.

And when it finally arrived, the city did not disappoint. The crowd started trickling into this giant bowl four hours before India’s match. And by the time Spain got the proceedings underway with a pushback after 7.15 pm, the stadium was full.

There was a deafening roar every time the ball touched an Indian stick, and the decibel levels went up even more when the two local players — vice captain Amit Rohidas and defender Nilam Xess — got involved in the play. Among the Panposh trainees, Rohidas, who is one of their own, is already becoming a cult figure in these parts.

“It was my dream to be a part of this academy,” Barwa said. “And I looked up to Amit Rohidas. He came from nothing, got picked here and is now in the national team. He’s such an inspiration.”

Manisha Oram, a defender like Rohidas, said, “I am in awe of his tackling and drag-flicks. I want to be like him.”

“When they take notes, they will think and learn,” said former India assistant coach B J Kariappa, who was recently made a coach at the academy. “Tomorrow, if they want to compare themselves, they can refer to it. So I have given them the assignment. These players are our future, Olympians perhaps. Their learning process won’t stop.”