New Delhi: Balbir Singh (Sr), member of three Olympic gold medal winning teams, was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the inaugural Hockey India Awards here on Saturday. The legendary 90-year-old player received the trophy for Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award along with a cheque of Rs 30 lakh.

A landmark occasion was witnessed, as Hockey India on Saturday conferred the first ever annual awards to recognise the dedication and hard work of hockey players, coaches and administrators on the field to build the sport on the national and international arena. Awards of over Rs.2.80 Crore were presented in a glittering ceremony at New Delhi. The chief guest for the occasion was Sarbananda Sonowal, Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports.

Meanwhile, the Dhruv Batra Award for Player of the Year (Men and Women) was given to Birendra Lakra and Vandana Katariya who took home a cash award of Rs 25,00,000 each. Jaman Lal Sharma Award for Invaluable Contribution (for coaches and support staff) was awarded to Harendra Singh, wherein he got a cheque Rs 5,00,000. Hockey India President Award for Outstanding Achievement was conferred to One Thousand Hockey Legs with a Rs 5,00,000 cheque for its exceptional contribution towards the sport.

Six awards named after players who represented India in the past included, the Jugraj Singh Award for Upcoming Player of the Year (Men – Under 21) awarded to Harmanpreet Singh with a cash prize of Rs 10,00,000, Asunta Lakra Award for Upcoming Player of the Year (Women – Under 21) to Namita Toppo with Rs 10,00,000. Besides a cash prize of Rs 5,00,000, Baljit Singh Award for Goalkeeper of the Year was awarded to PR Sreejesh; Pargat Singh Award for Defender of the Year to Deepika; Ajit Pal Singh Award for Midfielder of the Year given to Manpreet Singh and Dhanraj Pillay Award for Forward of the Year awarded to Akashdeep Singh for showcasing their efforts to continue upholding a healthy sports culture in the nation.

Speaking on the initiative by Hockey India, Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Sarbananda Sonowal said, “I would like to appreciate this initiative by Hockey India and feel proud of them. Would like to wish the teams and the players all the best and hope they win more accolades.”

Speaking post the awards, Balbir Singh Sr. said “I share the entire credit of the medals and trophies with my team mates and coaches. Dada Dhyan Chand was my role model. I attained inspiration from him and continue to do so till date. I am grateful for getting acknowledged so humbly. It is an honour to share this award today with all the sportsmen”.

An excited PR Sreejesh talking on being chosen for the Baljit Singh Award for Goalkeeper of the Year said, “It is an honour that I received the award from Baljit Singh and I have always looked upto him. I am very happy and I think I deserved it”.

An elated Namita Toppo said “I am happy and I was not expecting this today. This gives me motivation to play better and continue to improve my performance in the future. For now I am focusing on the New Zealand tour”.

A very happy Birendra Lakra said “I was hoping that I would get an award today and I am so happy to have been chosen for the Dhruv Batra Award for Player of the Year. This initiative by Hockey India is an inspiration for all the players and this will motivate us to work hard and play better each day.

Happy with the award, Vandana Kataria said “It feels great to have won the award today. Will aim to play better and make my country proud”.

Congratulating the awardees, Dr. Narinder Dhruv Batra, President, Hockey India said, “This is a first of its kind initiative and we will continue recognising players for their performance on the field. We want to motivate them and make them feel proud for what they are achieving for the country. I congratulate each of the awardees and hope to see them continuing to contribute for the sport for times to come.” 

‘Hockey India Annual Awards’ were also presented to players of the Indian team for their performance in various tournaments in the last 12 months. This included the Indian men hockey team getting awarded for their performance in the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games wherein they bagged the Silver and Gold respectively. Besides this the Indian Women team were awarded for their performance in the Asian Games where they won the Bronze and the convincing win in the recently held World League Round 2. The Jr. Men’s team were awarded for retaining their title in the Sultan of Johor Cup. This was followed by felicitating players who won individual awards in various tournaments and made India proud their solo play.

List of Awards for the ‘Hockey India Annual Awards’ –

The awardees for the ‘Hockey India Annual Awards’ received a glittering trophy, certificate and cash award. 

List of Awards for felicitating the players for the performance during 2014