Manpreet, Rani win Hockey India Player of the Year Awards

The awards carried total prize money of over INR 1.64 Crore.

The much-awaited Hockey India 3rd Annual Awards 2019 took place in New Delhi on Sunday which saw the National Federation celebrating the best hockey players and former greats of the game from India.

Mr Harbinder Singh won the prestigious Hockey India Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award 2019, while Manpreet Singh and Rani won the Hockey India Dhruv Batra Player of the Year Award 2019 for Men and Women respectively. 

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The first set of awards marking an important milestone in the careers of players began the proceedings. The Milestone Awards were presented to Deep Grace Ekka, Kothajit Singh Khadangbam and Savita for completing 200 International Caps for India, with a cheque of INR 1.00 Lakh each plus a trophy presented to the three players.

Harmanpreet Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay and Nikki Pradhan were awarded for turning out in Team India colours for the 100th time and were all presented with a cheque of INR 50,000 each and a trophy.

The second set of awards were given in recognition of Individual Achievements of the players. Indian Men’s Hockey Team Captain Manpreet Singh was given a cash award of INR 10.00 Lakhs for winning the FIH Men’s Player of the Year 2019, while youngsters Vivek Sagar Prasad and Lalremsiami received a cash award of INR five Lakhs for winning the FIH Rising Star of the Year 2019 Awards in the Men’s and Women’s categories respectively.

Indian Women’s Hockey Team Captain Rani was also awarded a cash prize of INR 10.00 Lakhs for winning the prestigious World Games Athlete of the Year 2019.

In the second part of the Hockey India 3rd Annual Awards 2019 function, players who have excelled in the year 2019 were recognised. The winners of the 11 Annual Awards were:

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• Hockey India President’s Award for Outstanding Achievement 2019 to Department of Sports & Youth Services, Government of Odisha,
• Hockey India Jaman Lal Sharma Award for Invaluable Contribution 2019 to Sports Authority of India,
• Hockey India Baljit Singh Award for Goalkeeper of the Year 2019 to Mr Krishan B. Pathak,
• Hockey India Pargat Singh Award for Defender of the Year 2019 to Mr Harmanpreet Singh,
• Hockey India Ajit Pal Singh Award for Midfielder of the Year 2019 to Ms Neha Goyal,
•  Hockey India Dhanraj Pillay Award for Forward of the Year 2019 to Mr Mandeep Singh.

Each of the above individual awards carried a cash prize of INR 5.00 Lakhs besides a glittering trophy. Apart from this, the following awards were also presented:

• Hockey India Asunta Lakra Award for Upcoming Player of the Year 2019 (Women – Under 21) was presented to Ms Lalremsiami,
• Hockey India Jugraj Singh Award for Upcoming Player of the Year 2019 (Men – Under 21) was presented to Mr Vivek Sagar Prasad.

Each of the above two players received a cash prize of INR 10.00 Lakhs and a trophy.

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Dr Narinder Dhruv Batra, President, International Hockey Federation (FIH), President, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and Member, International Olympic Committee (IOC) spoke before awarding the winners, “I would like to congratulate Hockey India for their continued efforts of raising the bar for Indian Hockey to the highest of standards."

He said, "Hockey has always been a very important part of India’s sporting history, and I am delighted to see that the game still has a high following in our country across states and regions. I am proud of the players of the Indian Men’s and Women’s Hockey teams, who have consistently been performing for the country."

"Today is a day when we salute your hard work and efforts, and I congratulate all the winners in advance for putting in exceptional performances last year.”

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It was Mr Manpreet Singh and Ms Rani who walked up to thunderous applause to collect the Player of the Year 2019 for Men and Women respectively. The winners of the most prestigious player’s awards for 2019 walked off the stage with a glittering trophy and a cash prize of INR 25.00 Lakhs each.

The final award for the day, the Hockey India Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award 2019, carrying a cash prize of INR 30.00 Lakhs and a trophy, was given to Mr Harbinder Singh for his outstanding contribution to the sport of hockey.