New Delhi, March 31 : National team midfielders Hardik Singh and Salima Tete were honoured with the Balbir Singh Sr. Award for Player of The Year 2023 in men's and women's categories, respectively, at the Hockey India Annual Awards held in the national capital on Sunday. Hardik and Salima received a cash prize of Rs 25 lakh along with a trophy each.

"It is a matter of great pride for me to win the prestigious award. This is truly reflective of the hard work and the commitment that our team displayed over the past year. I am thankful to each and every one for their support and I will continue to work even harder in the coming year to justify the honour."," said Hardik.

Meanwhile, Salima Tete, on her win, said, "I wish to thank my teammates, coaches, and the support staff for showcasing their faith in me. It is a matter of great pride for me every time I get to wear the Indian jersey and step out on the field to represent the nation. This award will further motivate me to continue to do even better each day so I can continue to make the country proud."

The 1975 World Cup winner Ashok Kumar won the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award named after his father Major Dhyan Chand.

Ace goalie P.R. Sreejesh was honoured with the Baljit Singh Award for Goalkeeper of the Year, receiving a cheque of Rs 5,00,000 along with a trophy. For his consistent performances throughout the year, Harmanpreet Singh won the Pargat Singh Award for Defender of the Year, earning himself a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh along with a trophy.

Midfielder Hardik also won the Ajit Pal Singh Award for Midfielder of the Year. while Abhishek won the prestigious Dhanraj Pillay Award for Forward of the Year, both earning themselves INR 5 lakh and a trophy each. Forward Deepika Soreng bagged the Asunta Lakra Award for Upcoming Player of the Year in the Women ' Under 21 category while Araijeet Singh Hundal bagged the Jugraj Singh Award for Upcoming Player of the Year (Men ' Under 21).

The award ceremony started with the Milestone Awards 2023 with Vivek Sagar Prasad, Hardik Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Sumit, Krishan Bahadur Pathak, Udita, Salima Tete, and Gurjant Singh winning a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh and a trophy each for completing 100 international caps. Nikki Pradhan, Amit Rohidas, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, and Neha were also presented with Rs 1.5 lakh and a trophy each for completing 150 international caps.

Indian senior men's hockey team defender Harmanpreet Singh was awarded Rs 2 lakh and a trophy for completing 200 international caps, while senior women's team goalkeeper Savita Punia was presented with Rs 2.5 Lakh along with a trophy for earning 250th International Cap.

Men's team goalkeeper PR Sreejesh was presented with Rs 3 lakh along with a trophy for earning his 300th international cap. Last year, Vandana Katariya became the first Indian women's hockey player to earn her 300th international cap and was awarded Rs 3 lakh along with a trophy.

The final milestone award of Rs 3.5 lakh and a trophy was presented to midfielder Manpreet Singh for completing 350 international matches for India.

In the individual achievement awards, Deepika, Mohith H.S., Annu, Anjali Barwa, Maninder Singh, Deepika Soreng, Mandeep Singh, Salima Tete, Sangita Kumari, Harmanpreet Singh, were awarded a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh and a trophy for their spectacular individual performances in various tournaments.

Savita, who was awarded the FIH Goalkeeper of the Year at the Star Awards 2023, was presented with a prize of Rs 5 lakh, while Hardik, who was named FIH Player of the Year at the Star Awards 2023, was presented a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh.

The Indian men's team was honoured for their gold medal-winning performance at the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022, China, with a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh for each player and Rs 2.5 lakh for each member of the support staff.

The Indian women's team that won the bronze medal in the tournament were awarded Rs 3 lakh for each player and Rs 1.5 lakh for each member of the support.

The silver-medal winning women's team of FIH Hockey 5s World Cup 2024 were presented with Rs 3 lakh for each player and Rs 1.5 lakh for all members of the support staff.

The gold medal-winning junior men's team of Junior World Cup 2016 was felicitated, with each player earning a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh along with a trophy. The gold-winning men's and women's Junior Asia Cup 2023 teams were also honoured, with each player earning a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh and all the members of the support staff earning a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh each.

Men's and women's Hockey 5s Asia Cup winning teams were also felicitated at the ceremony, with each player earning a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh and all the members of the support staff earning a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh each. Men's and women's Asian Champions Trophy-winning teams were also felicitated with Rs 3 lakh for each player and Rs 1.5 lakh for all members of the support staff.

Meanwhile, the final category began with Hockey Haryana winning the award for Best Member Unit of the Year Award 2023, earning a prize of Rs 2.5 lakh.

Hockey India President Award for Umpire/Umpires Manager of the Year 2023 was presented to G Harsha Vardan, with a prize of Rs 2.5 lakh. The Hockey India President Award for Technical Official of the Year 2023 worth Rs 2.5 lakh was presented to Sonia Bathla.

Hockey India President Award for Outstanding Achievement 2023 worth Rs 5 lakh was presented to SAIL Hockey Academy, Rourkela. Hockey India Jaman Lal Sharma Award for Invaluable Contribution 2023 was presented to Dr. Bibhu Kalyan Nayak, and he was presented with a cheque of INR 5 lakh along with a trophy.

The total prize pool was an unprecedented amount of Rs 7.56 crores.

/IANS