Asia: _~ The annual awards were held in New Delhi to honour Hockey stars and legends ~_Hardik Singh and Salima Tete win Balbir Singh Sr. Award for Player of The Year 2023

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New Delhi, 31st March 2024: The highly-anticipated Hockey India 6th
Annual Awards 2023 took place in New Delhi on Sunday where the National
Federation celebrated India’s best hockey stars, officials and legends
of the sport.

On an unforgettable afternoon, which saw the presence of some of the
biggest names in Indian Hockey, Shri Ashok Kumar won the prestigious
Hockey India Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award, while Hardik
Singh and Salima Tete were honoured with the Hockey India Balbir Singh
Sr. Award for Player of The Year 2023 awards in Men’s and Women’s
categories, respectively.

This year, at the Hockey India 6th Annual Awards 2023, the total prize
pool was an unprecedented amount of INR 7.56 crores.

Opening the Awards ceremony, Hockey India Secretary General Shri Bhola
Nath Singh, gave a warm welcome to the respected guests, dignitaries and
the hockey stars.

“It is always a great occasion for us at Hockey India when we are
able to gather under the same roof and celebrate everyone who has been
responsible for helping our beloved sport in its tremendous growth over
the past year. I offer my congratulations to all the players, officials,
and support staff for their unparalleled strength, fierce determination
and relentless pursuit of excellence, because of which Indian hockey has
scaled to new heights. I congratulate all the nominees and the winners
for their invaluable contribution, and also thank our beloved legends of
the sport for their presence, and for being a source of inspiration for
all of us, as we move further into another important year for the sport
of hockey. Hockey India has been taking incredible steps to further grow
the sport and we also want to re-confirm today that we will soon launch
Hockey India League for both teams with eight Men’s teams and six
women’s teams. We aim to launch the same latest by January next year,”
he said.

The ceremony started with the Milestone Awards 2023 with Vivek Sagar
Prasad, Hardik Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Sumit, Krishan Bahadur Pathak,
Udita, Salima Tete, and Gurjant Singh winning a cash prize of INR 1 Lakh
and a trophy each for completing 100 International Caps. Nikki Pradhan,
Amit Rohidas, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, and Neha were also presented with
INR 1.5 Lakh and a trophy each for completing 150 International Caps.

Indian Women’s Hockey Team defender Harmanpreet Singh was awarded INR 2
Lakh and a trophy for completing 200 International Caps, while Indian
Women’s Hockey Team goalkeeper Savita was presented with INR 2.5 Lakh
along with a trophy for earning 250th International Cap. Indian Men’s
Hockey Team goalkeeper PR Sreejesh was presented with INR 3 Lakh along
with a trophy for earning his 300th International Cap. Last year,
Vandana Katariya became the first Indian Women’s Hockey Team player to
earn her 300th International Cap and was awarded INR 3 Lakh along with a
trophy. The final milestone award of INR 3.5 Lakh and a trophy was
presented to Manpreet Singh for completing 350 International matches for
India.

In the second category of Individual Achievement Awards, Deepika,
Mohith H S, Annu, Anjali Barwa, Maninder Singh, Deepika Soreng, Mandeep
Singh, Salima Tete, Sangita Kumari, Harmanpreet Singh, were awarded a
cash prize of INR 1 Lakh and a trophy for their spectacular individual
performances in various tournaments. Savita, who was awarded FIH
Goalkeeper of the Year at the Star Awards 2023, was presented with a
prize of INR 5 Lakhs, while Hardik Singh, who was awarded FIH Player of
the Year at the Star Awards 2023, was presented a cash prize of INR 10
Lakhs.

The Gold Medal Winning Indian Junior Men’s Hockey Team of Uttar Pradesh
Hockey Junior World Cup Men Lucknow 2016 was felicitated, with each
player earning a cash prize of INR 5 Lakh along with a trophy. The Gold
Medal Winning Indian Junior Men’s Hockey Team of Men’s Junior Asia Cup
2023, Salalah, Oman and the Gold Medal Winning Indian Junior Women’s
Hockey Team of Women’s Junior Asia Cup 2023, Kakamigahara, Japan were
also honoured, with each player earning a cash prize of INR 2 Lakh and
all the members of the support staff earning a cash prize of INR 1 Lakh
each.

The Gold Medal Winning Indian Men’s Hockey Team for Men’s Hockey 5s
Asia Cup Salalah 2023, and the Gold Medal Winning Indian Women’s Hockey
Team for Women’s Hockey 5s Asia Cup Salalah 2023 were felicitated at the
ceremony, with each player earning a cash prize of INR 2 Lakh and all
the members of the support staff earning a cash prize of INR 1 Lakh
each.

The Gold medal Winning Indian Men’s Hockey Team of Hero Asian Champions
Trophy Chennai 2023, and the Gold Medal Winning Indian Women’s Hockey
Team of Jharkhand Women’s Asian Champions Trophy Ranchi 2023 were also
felicitated with INR 3 Lakhs for each player and INR 1.5 Lakh for all
members of the support staff each.

The Indian Men’s Hockey Team was also honoured for their Gold medal
winning performance at the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022, China, with a
cash prize of INR 5 Lakh for each player and INR 2.5 Lakh for each
member of the support staff. The Indian Women’s Hockey Team that won the
Bronze medal in the tournament were awarded INR 3 Lakh for each player
and INR 1.5 Lakh for each member of the support. The Silver-medal
winning Indian Women’s Hockey Team of FIH Hockey 5s Women’s World Cup
2024 Muscat Oman, were presented with INR 3 Lakh for each player and INR
1.5 Lakh for all members of the support staff each.

Meanwhile, the final category of Hockey Indian Annual Award Categories
for the year 2023 began with Hockey Haryana winning the award for Hockey
India Best Member Unit of the Year Award 2023, earning a prize of INR
2.5 Lakh. Hockey India President Award for Umpire/Umpires Manager of the
Year 2023 was presented to G Harsha Vardan, with a prize of INR 2.5
Lakhs. Hockey India President Award for Technical Official of the Year
2023 worth INR 2.5 Lakh was presented to Sonia Bathla. Hockey India
President Award for Outstanding Achievement 2023 worth INR 5 Lakh was
presented to SAIL Hockey Academy, Rourkela. Hockey India Jaman Lal
Sharma Award for Invaluable Contribution 2023 was presented to Dr Bibhu
Kalyan Nayak, and he was presented with a cheque of INR 5 Lakh along
with a trophy.

The award ceremony saw PR Sreejesh winning the prestigious Hockey India
Baljit Singh Award for Goalkeeper of the Year, earning a cash prize of
INR 5 Lakh along with a trophy. For his consistent performances
throughout the year, Harmanpreet Singh won the Hockey India Pargat Singh
Award for Defender of the Year, earning himself a cash prize of INR 5
Lakh along with a trophy.

Hockey India Ajit Pal Singh Award for Midfielder of the Year was won by
Hardik Singh, while Abhishek won the prestigious Hockey India Dhanraj
Pillay Award for Forward of the Year, both earning themselves INR 5 Lakh
and a trophy each.

The next generation was also honoured with youngster Deepika Soreng
winning the Hockey India Asunta Lakra Award for Upcoming Player of the
Year (Women – Under 21) earning a cash prize of INR 10 Lakh and a
trophy. Araijeet Singh Hundal was named the Hockey India Jugraj Singh
Award for Upcoming Player of the Year (Men – Under 21), winning a cash
prize of INR 10 Lakh and a trophy.

Hardik Singh, and Salima Tete, won the Hockey India Balbir Singh Sr.
Award for Player of The Year Awards for men and Women respectively, each
earning a cash prize of INR 25 Lakh along with a trophy. Speaking on the
win, Hardik Singh said, “It is a matter of great pride for me to win the
prestigious award. This is truly reflective of the hard work and the
commitment that our team displayed over the past year. I am thankful to
each and everyone for their support and I will continue to work even
harder in the coming year to justify the honour.”

Meanwhile, Salima Tete, on her win, said, “I wish to thank my
teammates, coaches and the support staff for showcasing their faith in
me. It is a matter of great pride for me every time I get to wear the
Indian jersey and step out on the field to represent the nation. This
award will further motivate me to continue to do even better each day so
I can continue to make the country proud.”

The ceremony closed with Hockey India celebrating the achievements of
Ashok Kumar, honouring the Indian Legend with the prestigious Hockey
India Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award, with a cash prize of
INR 30 Lakh and a trophy.

Some of Ashok Kumar’s career highlights are:

· Member of 1975 World Cup Gold-medal winning Indian team

· Member of the 1972 Munich Olympics Bronze-medal winning
Indian team

· Also part of the Indian teams that won the Bronze medal at
the 1971 World Cup and the Silver medal at the 1973 World Cup

· 1974 Arjuna Award winner

Key winners of the Hockey India 6th Annual Awards 2023:

INR 5,00,000 – Hockey India Baljit Singh Award for Goalkeeper of the
Year –

Winner: PR Sreejesh

INR 5,00,000 - Hockey India Pargat Singh Award for Defender of the
Year

Winner: Harmanpreet Singh

INR 5,00,000 - Hockey India Ajit Pal Singh Award for Midfielder of
the Year

Winner: Hardik Singh