India's Hardik Singh, goalkeeper Savita Punia nominated for FIH Hockey Star Awards 2023

Hardik is shortlisted in Men’s Player of the Year category.

India’s Hardik Singh, and goalkeeper Savita Punia have been nominated for the FIH Hockey Star Awards 2023The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has announced the FIH Hockey Star Awards 2023 nominees, which honor the best players, goalkeepers, rising stars, coaches, and umpires of the year. Among the 20 shortlisted candidates, two Indian hockey stars have been cut — men’s team midfielder Hardik Singh and women’s goalkeeper Savita.

Hardik Singh is one of the five nominees for the FIH Player of the Year Award in the men’s category. The 25-year-old from Punjab has been a vital part of the Indian men’s hockey team that won the gold medal at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, and finished fourth at the 2023 Men’s Hockey World Cup in Bhubaneswar, India.

Singh, who made his senior international debut at the 2018 Asian Men’s Hockey Champions Trophy, has scored nine goals in 114 appearances for India.

He is up against Thierry Brinkman (Netherlands), Jeremy Hayward (Australia), Zach Wallace (England) and Niklas Wellen (Germany) for the prestigious award.

Savita, who hails from Sirsa district of Haryana, is one of the five nominees for the FIH Goalkeeper of the Year Award in the women’s category. The 33-year-old veteran has been the backbone of the Indian women’s team that reached the historic Olympic semifinals at Tokyo 2020, where she made some crucial saves in the penalty shootout against Australia in the quarterfinals.

Savita, who received the Arjuna Award in 2018, has also been instrumental in India’s silver medal finish at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, and the gold medal triumph at the 2017 Asia Cup in Gifu, Japan. She has played over 100 games for India since her international debut in 2008.

She will compete with Jocelyn Bartram (Australia), Kelsey Bing (USA), Josine Koning (Netherlands) and Julia Sonntag (Germany) for the coveted award.

The FIH Hockey Star Awards 2023 voting process is now open until 11 December (23:59 CET). The votes of the Expert Panel count for 40% of the overall result, while those from National Associations, fans, players, and media make up the remaining 60%. Anyone wishing to vote can register a free “FIH Family” account and cast their vote here. The winners will be announced in January 2024.

For more updates, follow Khel Now on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram