Hockey India honours the class of 1975; Harmanpreet, Savita bag top awards
The Hindu
Celebrating Indian hockey's historic milestones and recent successes at the 7th Hockey India annual awards with over Rs. 12 crore in prizes.
The loudest cheers were reserved for those who, on this day 50 years back, lifted India’s maiden hockey World Cup in Kuala Lumpur as the victorious 1975 team was honoured with the Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award at the 7th Hockey India annual awards here on Saturday.
The event, coinciding with the 100th year of Indian hockey’s inception, saw the past and the present come together to celebrate historic and recent success, the total prize pool exceeding Rs. 12 crore for team achievements, individual awards and significant milestones.
The evening began with the felicitation of the bronze winning side at the 2024 Olympics and culminated with the surviving members and families of the 1975 triumphant side on stage. Ten of the 16 members were present while captain Ajitpal Singh was unable to attend due to health reasons and five were honoured posthumously.
Savita Punia and Harmanpreet Singh were recognized as the best Indian players for 2024 with the Balbir Singh Sr. Player of the Year Award for women and men respectively and a cash prize of Rs. 25 lakh each. Savita was also named the Goalkeeper of the Year.
The Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu was awarded as the best unit of the year for its efforts at the grassroots through the Tamil Nadu School Hockey League, India’s first-ever statewide initiative across eight districts and 306 schools with over 5,500 players over 500+ matches.
Key winners: ₹5 lakh each: Goalkeeper of the Year: Savita Punia; Defender of the Year: Amit Rohidas; Midfielder of the Year: Hardik Singh; Forward of the Year: Abhishek Nain.
₹10 lakh each: Upcoming Player of the Year (Women): Deepika; Men: Araijeet Singh Hundal.
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