PR Sreejesh, Savita Punia among six Indians nominated for FIH Hockey Stars Awards 2020-21

Drag-flickers Harmanpreet Singh and Gurjit Kaur are nominated in the best player category. Coaches Graham Reid and Sjoerd Marijne are also in the running.

2 minBy Rahul Venkat
TOKYO, JAPAN - AUGUST 05: Sreejesh Parattu Raveendran of Team India reacts after winning the Men's Bronze medal match between Germany and India on day thirteen of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Oi Hockey Stadium on August 05, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

(Alexander Hassenstein/ Getty Images)

As many as six Indian hockey players have been nominated for the International Hockey Federation’s (FIH) Hockey Stars Awards in various categories.

Veteran PR Sreejesh and Savita Punia have been nominated for the ‘FIH Goalkeeper of the Year’ in the men’s and women’s categories, respectively.

Both custodians were vital to the Indian hockey teams’ run to the bronze medal (men’s) and a fourth-place finish (women’s) at the Tokyo Olympics earlier this month.

Drag-flickers Harmanpreet Singh (men) and Gurjit Kaur (women) are in the running for ‘FIH Player of the Year’. 

Harmanpreet Singh, the men’s team vice-captain, scored five goals at Tokyo 2020 while Gurjit Kaur scored four goals, including the one to knock fancied Australia out of the Tokyo Olympics.

Youngsters Vivek Sagar Prasad and Sharmila Devi have been nominated for the ‘FIH Rising Star’ awards in the men’s and women’s, respectively. Players have to be aged 21 or under as of December 31, 2021 to be eligible for this nomination. 

Vivek Sagar Prasad was named FIH Rising Star of the Year in 2019.

In addition to the players, men’s team coach Graham Reid and former women’s team coach Sjoerd Marijne are among the nominees for the ‘FIH Coach of the Year’ in the men’s and women’s team categories.

Dutchman Sjoerd Marijne has since left his post after leading India to a fourth-place finish in the Tokyo Olympics.

The FIH Hockey Stars Awards is a vote-based awards system, where the national team captains, coaches, fans, players and the media all take part in the process.

The captains’ and coaches’ votes will be given a 50 per cent weightage, with the players and fans accounting for 25 per cent and the media’s votes counting towards the remaining 25 per cent.

The nominees for the FIH Hockey Stars Awards 2020-21 awards have been decided after factoring in performances from January 2020 till the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. 

Generally an annual award, it was scrapped in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and so, this year’s FIH awards cover a two-year period.

The vote closes on September 15, 2021, and the winners will be announced in late September or early October.

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