Hardik Singh, Savita win Hockey India Balbir Singh Sr. Award for Player of the Year 2022

New Delhi: The much-awaited Hockey India 5th Annual Awards 2022 took place in the capital city on Friday which saw the National Federation celebrate India’s best hockey stars, officials and former greats of the sport.

On a memorable afternoon where some of the legends of hockey made their presence known, Gurbux Singh won the prestigious Hockey India Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award 2022, while Hardik Singh and Savita won the Hockey India Balbir Singh Sr. Award for Player of The Year 2022 awards in Men and Women categories, respectively. This year, at the Hockey India 5th Annual Awards 2022, the total prize money was in excess of INR 2.7 Crore.

Opening the Awards ceremony, Padma Shri Dr. Dilip Tirkey, President, Hockey India, gave a warm welcome to the respected guests and the hockey stars. 

“At Hockey India, we have always strived to ensure we can provide the best surroundings, environment and right infrastructure so that our talented players and coaching staff can truly reach their full potential. It feels great to see our hard work bear fruit and we truly celebrate when our players make us proud with their stellar performances all around the globe. The year 2022 was no different where the Indian Hockey teams won medals across all divisions. I would like to express my congratulations to all the players, coaches and support staff present here today for their determination, vigour and passion to ensure the Indian flag continues to wave high in world hockey. I would also express my gratitude to the legends of the sport who are present here for inspiring the current generation, and also to the match officials for being an indispensable part of the sport,” he said.

Also present on the occasion, Hockey India Secretary General Shri Bhola Nath Singh added, “The Hockey India Annual Awards is a one-of-a-kind in the country and over the years, it has become a legacy that contributes towards the growth of the sport. We, at Hockey India, recognize the efforts of all those who have dedicated their lives to the sport – be it players, umpires, technical officials, or even our legends from the past. We understand that without the support of these individuals, we would not be where we are today. I sincerely thank everyone for being a part of this celebration, and for the continued support to Indian hockey.”

The awards ceremony started with the felicitation of awardees from 2021 & 2022.

For 2021, Indian Men’s Hockey Team Legend Amit Singh Bakshi, who was part of the Indian team that won the Gold Medal at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, received the prestigious Hockey India Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award for the year 2021. Meanwhile, Harmanpreet Singh and Savita won the Hockey India Balbir Singh Sr. Award for Player of The Year 2021 awards in the Men’s and Women’s categories, respectively.

For the awards for 2022, these started with Milestone Awards given to athletes who achieved important milestones in their career in the past year. These included awards given to Manpreet Singh and Rani for earning 300 International Caps and 250 International Caps, respectively. While Manpreet was awarded a cash prize of INR 3.00 Lakh and a trophy, Rani won a cash prize of INR 2.50 Lakh along with a trophy.

Also, Navjot Kaur and Mandeep Singh were each awarded INR 2.00 Lakh with a trophy for earning 200 International Caps, while Neha, Navneet Kaur, and Lalremsiami were also presented with INR 1.00 Lakh each with a trophy for earning 100 International Caps.

Harmanpreet Singh won two milestone awards – as he was presented with INR 1.50 Lakh along with a trophy for earning 150 International Caps and also a cash prize of INR 1.00 Lakh with a trophy for scoring 100 International goals. Karthi Selvam also received a cash prize of INR 1.00 Lakh for scoring a goal on debut while Umpire Javed Shaikh also was awarded a cash prize of INR 1.50 Lakh for officiating in his 150th Senior International Match.

The second set of awards for 2022 was given in recognition of the Individual Achievements of the players with PR Sreejesh and Savita earning INR Rs 5.00 Lakh each for winning the FIH Goalkeeper of the Year 2021-22 in Men’s and Women’s categories, respectively. Indian Women team Coach Janneke Schopman won INR 5.00 Lakh for being named the FIH Coach of the Year 2021-22 Women’s categories, while Mumtaz Khan also earned INR 5.00 Lakh for winning the FIH Women’s Rising Star of the Year 2021-22. Meanwhile, the Indian Men’s Hockey Team Captain Harmanpreet Singh was awarded INR 10.00 Lakh for being named the FIH Men’s Player of the Year 2021-22.

Harmanpreet Singh was also awarded INR 1.00 Lakh for being the top goal-scorer at the FIH Men’s Hockey Pro League 2021-22, while Savita was presented with additional prize money of INR 1.00 Lakh for being The Best Goalkeeper of the FIH Hockey Women’s Nations Cup Spain 2022. Sharda Nand Tiwari was also honoured with a cash prize of INR 1.00 Lakh for being the Top Goal Scorer of the Sultan of Johor Cup 2022.

Meanwhile, the Indian Women’s Hockey Team that won the Gold Medal at the FIH Women’s Nations Cup Spain 2022 was also felicitated during the ceremony with each player winning INR 2.00 Lakh while the Coaching staff was presented with INR 1.00 Lakh each. Also, the Indian Junior Men’s Hockey Team that won the Gold Medal at the Sultan of Johor Cup 2022 was also felicitated with each player earning INR 2.00 Lakh each and each member of the Coaching staff earning INR 1.00 Lakh each.

Hockey India showed their appreciation to the Odisha State Government for the successful completion of the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela this year.

Umpires and Technical Officials were also recognised at the ceremony for their contribution to the sport. The following were the winners:

1. Hockey India President Award for Umpire/Umpire Manager 2022 was presented to Gurinder Singh Sangha
2. Hockey India President Award for Technical Official 2022 was presented to Mohd. Mogul Muneer

Both the winners were presented with INR Rs 2.50 Lakh along with a trophy.

Hockey Ace Foundation was also presented with the honour of the Hockey India President Award for Outstanding Achievement 2022, earning prize money of INR 5.00 Lakh along with a trophy. 

Hockey Ace Foundation – A joint venture between Tata Steel Limited and Tata Trusts has been successfully running two Hockey Academies – the Naval Tata Hockey Academy in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand and the Odisha Naval Tata Hockey High-Performance Centre in Bhubaneswar, Odisha which is established with the help of the Govt. of Odisha.

Meanwhile, the winners of other annual awards also received a tremendous response from the gathering. The awardees were:

1. Hockey India Jaman Lal Sharma Award for Invaluable Contribution 2022 was presented to Pritam Siwach
2. Hockey India Baljit Singh Award for Goalkeeper of the Year 2022 to Krishan B Pathak
3. Hockey India Pargat Singh Award for Defender of the Year 2022 to Harmanpreet Singh
4. Hockey India Ajit Pal Singh Award for Midfielder of the Year 2022 to Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam
5. Hockey India Dhanraj Pillay Award for Forward of the Year 2022 to Vandana Katariya

Each of the above categories of awards also carried a prize of INR 5.00 Lakh along with a trophy.

Apart from this, the following awards were also presented:

1. Hockey India Asunta Lakra Award for Upcoming Player of the Year 2022 (Women – Under 21) was presented to Mumtaz Khan
2. Hockey India Jugraj Singh Award for Upcoming Player of the Year 2022 (Men – Under 21) was presented to Uttam Singh

Both the above two players received a cash prize of INR 10.00 Lakh each along with a trophy.

The thrilling day came to a stunning finish with the presentation of the most eagerly-awaited Hockey India Balbir Singh Sr. Award for Player of the Year 2022 Awards for Men and Women, and the Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award.

Hardik Singh and Savita received a standing ovation as they were announced as the winners of the Hockey India Balbir Singh Sr. Award for Player of the Year 2022 Awards for Men and Women, respectively, and went to the stage to collect the awards. The winners of the prestigious players’ awards for 2022 received a glittering trophy along with a cash prize of INR 25.00 Lakh each.

Speaking on the honour, the Indian Captain, Savita said, “To be honest, I am speechless; this is a tremendous honour for which I am extremely grateful. We performed admirably as a team, and winning the inaugural FIH Women’s Nations Cup was a watershed moment for all of us. I’d also like to thank my teammates, coach and support staff for their continuous encouragement and hard work in helping the team reach new heights.”

Hardik Singh also expressed gratitude for receiving the award and said, “Receiving this award is a tremendous honour for me. It’s been a fantastic year, and it feels great to be recognised for my efforts. I believe we had a roller coaster year as a team, and there are players who have done exceptionally well this year as well. I honestly feel that I am accepting this honour on behalf of the entire team. I would like to thank each and every member of our team, as this would not have been possible without their support.”

The final award for the day, the Hockey India Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award 2022, carrying a cash prize of INR 30.00 Lakh and a trophy, was presented to Gurbux Singh for his outstanding contribution to the sport of hockey.

Some of Gurbux Singh’s Achievements:

·        Part of the team which won the Gold medal at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.

·        Joint Captain of the Bronze medal winning team at the 1968 Mexico Olympics.

·        Captain of the Gold medal winning team at the 1966 Asian Games.

·        Conferred with the Arjuna Award for his contribution in the field of hockey.

The Winners of the Hockey India Annual Awards 2022 are: