India sweeps FIH annual awards; men's Olympic champion Belgium says this is not normal
The Hindu
Hockey Belgium reacted sharply to the announcement of the winners and questioned the process as none of their Tokyo Games champions managed to win an award.
India swept the International Hockey Federation's annual awards on Wednesday, claiming all the top honours based on a voting system which was lambasted as a "failure" by men's Olympic champions Belgium, prompting the FIH to say that it would try to figure why some associations did not cast their ballot.
Five Indian players and the head coaches of both the men's and women's teams in Tokyo claimed the top honours across different categories after fetching the maximum votes. The men's hockey team had won a bronze, its first in 41 years, in the Tokyo Olympics, while the women's side had finished an unprecedented fourth in the showpiece.
Harmanpreet Singh won the men's 'Player of the Year' award and Gurjit Kaur was recognised as the best player in the women's section. Veteran P.R. Sreejesh and Savita Punia won the best goalkeeper awards in the men's and women's section, while young striker Sharmila Devi (women) and Vivek Sagar Prasad (men) were adjudged best rising stars.