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The highly-anticipated Hockey India 6th Annual Awards 2023 took place in New Delhi on Sunday, with the National Federation celebrating the country's best hockey stars, officials and legends of the sport.
In the presence of some of the biggest names in Indian Hockey, 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. The total prize pool at Hockey India 6th Annual Awards 2023 was an 'unprecedented' Rs 7.56 crores, according to an official release. Opening the awards gala, Hockey India Secretary General Bhola Nath Singh welcomed the guests, dignitaries and 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," he was quoted as saying in a release by Hockey India. "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 the 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 added. 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 Rs 1 lakh and a trophy each for completing 100 International caps. Nikki Pradhan, Amit Rohidas, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, and Neha were also presented with Rs 1.5 lakh and a trophy each for reaching the milestone 150 international caps. Indian men's hockey team defender Harmanpreet Singh was awarded Rs 2 Lakh and a trophy for completing 200 International caps, while Indian women's hockey team goalkeeper Savita was presented with Rs 2.5 Lakh along with a trophy for earning her 250th International cap. Indian men's hockey team goalkeeper PR Sreejesh was presented with a cash prize of Rs 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. She received a cheque of Rs 3 Lakh along with a trophy for reaching the career milestone. The final milestone award of Rs 3.5 lakh and a trophy was presented to Manpreet Singh for playing 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 Rs 1 lakh and a trophy each for their spectacular individual performances across tournaments. Savita, who was awarded FIH Goalkeeper of the Year at the Star Awards 2023, received Rs 5 lakh while Hardik Singh, who was awarded FIH Player of the Year at the Star Awards 2023, was presented a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh. 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 receiving a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh along with a trophy. The gold-winning Indian Junior Men's Hockey Team of Men's Junior Asia Cup 2023, Salalah, Oman and the gold-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 Rs 2 lakh and all the members of the support staff receiving cheques of Rs 1 lakh each. The gold medal-winning Indian Men's Hockey Team for Men's Hockey 5s Asia Cup Salalah 2023, and the gold-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 Rs 2 lakh and all the members of the support staff earning a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh each. The gold-winning Indian Men's Hockey Team of Hero Asian Champions Trophy Chennai 2023, and the gold-winning Indian Women's Hockey Team of Jharkhand Women's Asian Champions Trophy Ranchi 2023 were also felicitated with Rs 3 lakh for each player and Rs 1.5 lakh each for all members of the support staff. 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 Rs 5 lakh for each player and Rs 2.5 lakh each for the support staff. The Indian women's hockey team that won the bronze medal in the tournament were awarded Rs 3 lakh for each player and Rs 1.5 lakh for each member of the support staff. The silver-medal winning Indian women's hockey team of FIH Hockey 5s Women's World Cup 2024 Muscat Oman, were presented with Rs 3 lakh for each player and Rs 1.5 lakh for all members of the support staff. Meanwhile, the final category of the Hockey India Annual Award for the year 2023 began with Hockey Haryana winning the Hockey India Best Member Unit of the Year Award 2023 and walking away with a cash prize of Rs 2.5 lakh. Hockey India President Award for Umpire/Umpires Manager of the Year 2023 was presented to G Harsha Vardan, along with prize money of Rs 2.5 lakh. The Hockey India President Award for Technical Official of the Year 2023 was presented to Sonia Bathla along with prize money worth Rs 2.5 lakh. Hockey India President Award for Outstanding Achievement 2023, along with prize money of Rs 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, who also received a cheque of Rs 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 Rs 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 Rs 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 Rs 5 Lakh and a trophy each. The gen-next 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 Rs 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 Rs 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 Rs 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 Rs 30 Lakh and a trophy. Key winners of the Hockey India 6th Annual Awards 2023: Rs 5,00,000 - Hockey India Baljit Singh Award for Goalkeeper of the Year - Winner: PR Sreejesh Rs 5,00,000 - Hockey India Pargat Singh Award for Defender of the Year Winner: Harmanpreet Singh Rs 5,00,000 - Hockey India Ajit Pal Singh Award for Midfielder of the Year Winner: Hardik Singh Rs 5,00,000 - Hockey India Dhanraj Pillay Award for Forward of the Year Winner: Abhishek Rs 10,00,000 - Hockey India Asunta Lakra Award for Upcoming Player of the Year (Women - Under 21) Winner: Deepika Soreng Rs 10,00,000 - Hockey India Jugraj Singh Award for Upcoming Player of the Year (Men - Under 21) Winner: Araijeet Singh Hundal Rs 25,00,000 - Hockey India Balbir Singh Sr. Award for Player of The Year (Women) Winner: Salima TeteRs 25,00,000 - Hockey India Balbir Singh Sr. Award for Player of The Year (Men) Winner: Hardik SinghRs 30,00,000 - Hockey India Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award - Winner: Ashok Kumar. (ANI)
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