Vivek Sagar Prasad: Indian hockey’s midfield marvel

Most players have to toil for years before making their mark on the world stage. However, Indian hockey team midfielder Vivek Sagar Prasad was an ‘instant success’.

Vivek Sagar Prasad made his senior India debut in January 2018 at the age of 17 years, 10 months, and 22 days to become the second-youngest player to represent his country.

Since then, the creative playmaker has made over 100 international appearances for India.

He also led the Indian junior hockey team to a silver medal at the Youth Olympic Games 2018 in Buenos Aires. In the same year, Vivek Sagar Prasad helped India win bronze at the Asian Games in Jakarta and silver at the Champions Trophy in the Netherlands.

The Indian hockey player was also declared the FIH Men's Rising Star of the Year in 2019.

Playing as a midfielder, Prasad was instrumental in India's bronze medal finish at the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympics. He was named FIH Young Player of the Year in 2021.

In 2022, Vivek Sagar Prasad helped India win silver at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. In 2023, He was part of the Indian team that won gold medals at the Asian Champions Trophy in Chennai and the Asian Games in Hangzhou.

Where was Vivek Sagar Prasad born

Vivek Sagar Prasad was born on February 25, 2000, in the village of Shivnagar Chandon near Itarsi town in Madhya Pradesh.

As a kid, Vivek Sagar Prasad liked to play chess, badminton and cricket and it was only by chance that he got introduced to hockey around 2010-11 when the hockey coach in the school where Vivek Sagar Prasad studied, offered to train the students who wanted to try out the sport.

"I was more interested in badminton and chess. We were told that those interested in hockey could join the training and that's how hockey came into my life,” Vivek Sagar Prasad told ESPN in an interview.

Hockey soon captured the young Vivek Sagar Prasad’s imagination. Even in his spare time, Vivek Sagar Prasad practiced in a small corner near his house and found himself playing beyond the school level in a few months.

While playing at a local senior-level tournament in Akola in 2013, Vivek Sagar Prasad caught the eye of Ashok Kumar, who scored the winning goal in the 1975 Hockey World Cup final and is the son of Indian legend Dhyan Chand.

Despite being only 13, Vivek Sagar Prasad stood out from the crowd.

After the match, Vivek Sagar Prasad was offered a placement at Ashok Kumar’s MP Hockey Academy in Bhopal. The talented midfielder grabbed the opportunity with both hands and honed his skills at Ashok Kumar’s institute for the next few years.

Overcoming injury and depression

Vivek Sagar Prasad looked certain to make the Indian squad for the Junior Hockey World Cup in 2016 but a career-threatening injury stalled his ambitions.

The midfielder injured his collarbone during one of the practice matches and had to sit out for months, battling depression.

“He was hit with such force that his collarbone tore through the flesh. Injuries are routine but this looked very serious. We rushed him to a nearby hospital where they had to conduct an immediate surgery," Ashok Kumar told Indian Express in 2018.

Vivek Sagar Prasad, however, made an impressive comeback in the Sultan of Johor Cup in 2017 and led India’s under-21 side to a bronze medal. He won the Player of the Tournament award and caught the eye of erstwhile Indian senior coach Sjoerd Marijne. A national camp call up followed.

Vivek Sagar Prasad’s achievements and medals

Impressed by Vivek Sagar Prasad’s all-round abilities, Sjoerd Marijne drafted him into the senior team for the four-nation invitational tournament in January 2018. Rio 2016 silver medallists Belgium, Japan and hosts New Zealand were the other teams in the tournament.

When he took the field against Japan, Prasad became the second-youngest player to represent the Indian national team, falling short of Sandeep Singh’s record by just 11 days.

Vivek Prasad took little time to convince the management that he belonged in the senior squad. He replaced former India captain and legend Sardar Singh in the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games squad. Later that year, he helped India win a bronze medal at the Asian Games in Jakarta, scoring four goals.

Prasad also scored an equaliser against Australia in the 2018 Champions Trophy final in the Netherlands but India settled for silver after losing to Australia via a shootout.

Prasad led the Indian junior team at the Youth Olympic Games in 2018. Not only did he play an important role in the midfield but he was also India’s joint-highest goal-scorer for India in the tournament.

In the final against Malaysia, Vivek Sagar Prasad scored twice but India went on to lose 4-2 and settled for silver.

He soon became a regular feature in the senior Indian setup and was adjudged Best Young Player of the tournament at the FIH Men's Series Finals in 2019. Prasad won the FIH Men's Rising Star of the Year in the same year.

Vivek Sagar Prasad’s Olympic bronze medals

Vivek Sagar Prasad played all eight games for India at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. He scored a crucial goal in the final minutes of the game against Argentina to put India 2-1 ahead. India won the match 3-1 to qualify for the knockouts.

Though it was the only goal of the tournament for Prasad, he played an important role in the Indian hockey team’s first Olympic medal, a bronze, in 41 years.

After the Tokyo Olympics, Vivek Sagar Prasad captained India at the Junior Hockey World Cup, where they reached the semi-finals.

In 2021, he was presented the Arjuna Award - India’s second-highest honour for sportspersons - and the FIH Young Player of the Year award for his efforts at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Prasad was once again a vital cog for India at the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham, where India won a silver medal after losing to Australia in the final.

Vivek Sagar Prasad was a regular feature in the Indian hockey team that had a fair share of ups and downs in 2023. India, one of the pre-tournament favourites, failed to reach the quarter-finals of the Hockey World Cup 2023 played in Odisha.

However, the team bounced back to win gold medals at the Asian Champions Trophy in Chennai and also at the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

At Paris 2024, Vivek Sagar Prasad was one of India's experienced players. His crucial goal helped secure a 3-2 win against New Zealand in the group stage. India went on to win the bronze medal at Paris 2024.

Vivek Sagar Prasad hockey achievements

• Tokyo 2020 Olympics - Bronze medal
• Paris 2024 Olympics - Bronze medal
• Youth Olympic Games 2018 - Silver medal
• Asian Games 2023 - Gold medal
• Asian Games 2018 - Bronze Medal
• Asian Champions Trophy 2023 - Gold medal
• Commonwealth Games 2022 - Silver medal
• Champions Trophy 2018 - Silver medal
• FIH Men's Rising Star of the Year 2019
• Arjuna Award 2021
• FIH Young Player of the Year 2021