PR Sreejesh is FIH's Goalkeeper of the Year, Harmanpreet Singh wins Player of the Year award for 2023-24
Former India goalkeeper PR Sreejesh and captain Harmanpreet Singh were among the awardees at the FIH Star of the Year Awards for 2023-24. The awards were announced by the FIH (International Hockey Federation) at the 49th FIH Statutory Congress in Oman on Friday (November 8).
Sreejesh and Harmanpreet Singh, the architects of India's historic bronze-medal win at the 2024 Paris Olympics had been nominated for the coveted annual awards by the FIH earlier this year.
While Sreejesh won the FIH Goalkeeper of the Year award for a stellar performance in Paris, Harmanpreet, who ended up as the highest scorer in the competition, was voted Best Male Player of the Year.
Yibbi Jansen of the Netherlands won the Best Player of the Year award in the women's category, while Ye Jiao of China won the Best Goalkeeper Award.
Alyson Annan of Australia, who guided the Chinese girls to the final of Paris 2024, was awarded the FIH Coach of the Year award in the women's category for the second time in a row.
Jeroen Delmee, under whose tutelage the Dutch won an Olympic gold medal while also climbing to the top of the world rankings, won the FIH Coach of the Year in the men's category.
Pakistan's upcoming talent Sufyan Khan won the FIH Rising Star of the Year award. Sarah Wilson of Scotland and Steve Rogers of Australia won the FIH Umpire of the Year awards for women and men, respectively.
PR Sreejesh lauds team, Harmanpreet Singh receives award with wife and daughter
While thanking Hockey India for the FIH Best Player of the Year award, Harmanpreet Singh stressed that receiving the awards in the presence of his wife and daughter meant "the world" to him.
Harmanpreet had earlier won the award in 2020-21 and again in 2022-23.
"I would like to mention my teammates, none of this would have been possible without you all. Special thanks to Hockey India as well for always giving us every opportunity to succeed at all levels. My wife and daughter are here today and receiving this award in front of them means the world to me. So thank you to everyone who made that possible!,” Harmanpreet said (via FIH official website).
While accepting the award, Sreejesh, who ended his glittering playing career in Paris, said he was helped by the defense, midfield, and forwards.
“This award completely belongs to my team, the defence who made sure most attacks never got to me, and the midfielders and forwards who covered up my mistakes by scoring more goals than I conceded,” the former India captain declared while accepting the award.
Much like Harmanpreet Singh, Sreejesh also won the FIH Star Award for the third time after being voted as the best goalkeeper in 2020-21 and 2021-22.