FULL NAME: Florencia Ekka
GENDER: Female
DATE OF BIRTH: 8th January, 1975 (Official date)
FAMILY: Father (Vincent Ekka), Mother (Margareet Ekka), Husband (Prasanta Kumar Kaistha)
ORIGINAL HOME ADDRESS: Masnikani, Bamda, Sambalpur, Odisha, India.
PRESENT ADDRESS: Panpost Sports Hostel, Rourkela, Odisha, India.
ACADEMIC EDUCATION: Arts Graduate from Koida College. Earlier studied at Birsa Munda Bidyapitha, Rourkela.
ROLE IN THE SPORT: Player-turned-Coach
TYPE OF PLAYER: Forward
HOME ACADEMY: Panposh Sports Hostel, Rourkela (One of first-batch girls trainees. Joined in 1987)
RECEIVED COACHING FROM: Peter Tirkey, Kalu Charan Choudhury
PROFESSION: Employee of Department of Sports & Youth Services, Govt of Odisha and working as hockey coach at Sports Hostel, Rourkela.
COACHING EDUCATION:
*     Diploma in Coaching (Hockey), Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports (NSNIS), Patiala, 1996-98.
*     Did FIH Hockey India High Performance Coaching Course in Delhi, 2013.
*     Did international coaching course in Budapest, Hungary from 17 Sept to 5 Nov, 2012.
*     Did FIH Hockey India High Performance Coaching Course in Lucknow, 2012.

MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS AS PLAYER:
*     Bronze medal for Andhra Pradesh in Senior Women Zonal National Hockey Championship, Bangalore, 2005.
*     Gold medal in Women Sports National Hockey Championship, Pune, Maharashtra, 1996. She also led the Odisha team.
*     Bronze medal in Women Federation Cup Hockey Championship, Ranchi, 1996.
*     Silver medal in Women Federation Cup Hockey Championship, Gorakhpur, 1995.
*     Gold medal in Junior Women National Hockey Championship, Jalandhar, Punjab, 1995.
*     Silver medal in Women Sports Hockey National Championship, Trivandrum, Kerala, 1994-95.
*     Silver medal in Women Sports Hockey National Championship, Hissar, Haryana, 1993-94.
*     Bronze medal in Women School National Hockey Championship, Ranchi, 1993.
*     Gold medal in Women Rural National Hockey Championship, Gorakhpur, 1993.
*     Silver medal in Women Sports Hockey National Championship, Cuttack 1993.
*     Gold medal in Women Rural National Hockey Championship, Sonepath, 1992.
*     Bronze medal in Women Sports Hockey National Championship, Bangalore, 1991.
*     Bronze medal in Women Rural National Hockey Championship, Lucknow, 1991.
*     Bronze medal in Women Sports Hockey National Championship, Hyderabad, 1991.
*     Silver medal in Women Sports Hockey National Championship, Cuttack, 1990.
*     Bronze medal in Women Rural National Hockey Championship, Gumla, 1990.

MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS AS COACH:
*     She was the Head Coach of the Odisha girls team that won the Gold medal in the hockey competition of the 7th Khelo India Youth Games at Rajgir Sports Complex in Rajgir, Bihar on 13 May 2025.
*     Under her coaching, Odisha won 4 Gold, 3 Silver and 8 Bronze medals in National Hockey Championships.
*     Groomed many eminent hockey players including women internationals Rashmita Minz, Mariana Kujur, Ashmita Barla, Ajmina Kujur, Jiwan Kishori Toppo and Philicia Toppo.
*     She was coach of the Odisha U-17 women hockey team that won Bronze medal at the 3rd Khelo India Youth Games in Guwahati on 20 January, 2020.
*     She was head coach of the Hockey Odisha-Gangpur team at the 9th Hockey India Junior Women National Championship (A Division), held at Kollam, Kerala from 31 Jan-10 Feb, 2019.
*     She was head coach of the Hockey Odisha-Gangpur team at the 8th Hockey India Junior Women National Championship (A Division), held at Bhopal (MP) from 26 April to 6 May, 2018.
*     She was head coach of the Hockey Odisha-Gangpur team at the 7th Hockey India Senior Women National Championship (A Division), held at Rohtak, Haryana from 20-30 April, 2017.
*     She was manager of the Hockey Odisha-Gangpur team at the 6th Hockey India Senior Women National Championship (B Division), held at Bengaluru, Karnataka from 18-27 April, 2016.
*     Worked as hockey coach in Bargarh (Odisha) from 2009 to 2012.
*     Worked as hockey coach in Andhra Pradesh from 2002 to 2009.

OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
*     She is the first qualified woman hockey coach of Odisha.
*     Joined Panposh Sports Hostel Rourkela as coach in February, 2012.
*     Attended 1st Afro-Asian Games 2003 as observer of Indian Women Hockey Team.
*     Married cricket coach Prasant Kumar Kaistha in 2018.

PROFILE FIRST UPLOADED: 25 March 2020
PROFILE LAST UPDATED: 7 June 2025