The Olympics was historic for Indian hockey as the men’s team won a medal at the Tokyo Olympics after a gap of 41 years, while the women finished fourth in the Games.
Young midfielder Hardik Singh and seasoned woman goalkeeper Savita were on Friday named winners of the Balbir Singh Sr Award for male and female Player of the Year for 2022 at the Hockey India 5th Annual Awards 2022 here.
Hardik Singh and Savita received a standing ovation as they were declared the winners of the Hockey India Balbir Singh Sr. Award for Player of the Year 2022 Awards for Men and Women, respectively. The winners of the prestigious players’ awards for 2022 received a glittering trophy along with a cash prize of INR 25.00 Lakh each
The Odisha government has been the official sponsor of the Indian hockey teams since 2018. Odisha government will continue to support the men and women hockey teams of the country, announced state Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik during a felicitation ceremony to honour the players of these two teams who represented India in the Tokyo Olympics.
“The teams have scripted history with their brilliant performance at the Tokyo Olympics,” the chief minister said. “”You made us all so proud with your spirited fight at Tokyo. These are deeply emotional moments for India to witness the revival of Indian Hockey.”
Odisha government will continue to support the men and women hockey teams of the country, announced state Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik during a felicitation ceremony to honour the players of these two teams who represented India in the Tokyo Olympics.
Each player was given a cash award of ₹10 lahks at the felicitation ceremony. Patnaik also declared cash reward of ₹5 lakh for each support staff of the two teams.
Anurag Singh Thakur, Union Minister for Youth Affairs & Sports on Friday while speaking at the Hockey India 5th Annual Awards 2022 identified the good showing by both the Men’s and Women’s teams at Tokyo Olympics as a big shot in the arm for Hockey in India.
Anurag Singh Thakur said, “Tokyo Olympics was not an easy tournament, it was just at a time when the COVID pandemic was waning, training for the tournament was a big challenge but in Bengaluru, whether it be the Men’s team or the Women’s team, camps were organized for both of them and meticulous preparations were done. The wait we had for 41 years came to an end when the men’s team won a medal at the Games.
The women’s team won against formidable Australia and they performed remarkably well. Hockey was that one game for which the entire country became euphoric they celebrated the success by bursting crackers as if it was Diwali.” He praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the success of the huge hockey win.
