Savita & Harmanpreet named Players of the Year; 1975 World Cup heroes honoured with Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award

by Kheltoday · March 15, 2025

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Hockey India 7th Annual Awards 2024

Harmanpreet receiving Hockey India Balbir Singh Sr. Award for Player of the Year 2024 from Shri Navneet Sehgal, Chairman, Prasar Bharati, Shri Kabeer and Shri Bholanath Singh Secretary, Hockey India.

Hockey India Jaman Lal Sharma Award for Invaluable Contribution 2024 presented to Prasar Bharati, the official broadcaster of the Hero Hockey India League 2024-25, for its role in expanding the league’s reach globally

Rakesh Thapliyal

New Delhi: Hockey India 7th Annual Awards 2024 brought together the Indian hockey fraternity in New Delhi on Saturday as the National Federation celebrated the country’s finest hockey stars, officials, and legends who have made immense contributions to the sport, bringing pride to the nation year after year.

Victorious World Cup 1975 Indian Hockey Team members felicitated by the Hockey India with the Hockey India Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award along with a cash prize of INR 50 lakh.

This year’s awards held special significance as the apex body celebrated 100 years of Indian hockey while also marking the golden jubilee of India’s historic 1975 World Cup victory. To commemorate this milestone, Hockey India felicitated the members of the victorious 1975 World Cup squad, with the Hockey India Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award along with a cash prize of INR 50 lakh.

The unforgettable evening, which saw some of the biggest names in Indian hockey come together, featured a record prize pool of INR 12 crore, the highest ever in the history of the Hockey India Annual Awards.

Among the evening’s top honours, Savita and Harmanpreet Singh were recognised as the Hockey India Balbir Singh Sr. Award for Player of the Year 2024 winners in the Women’s and Men’s categories, respectively.

The awards ceremony began by honouring the biggest highlight of 2024—India’s bronze medal win at the Paris 2024 Olympics. The members of the Indian Men’s Hockey Team were felicitated with a scarf and a cash award of INR 15 lakh each, while alternate players received INR 5 lakh each, and support staff were awarded INR 7.5 lakh each in recognition of their contributions.

In the second category, eight states were honoured for their pivotal role in promoting hockey and their outstanding performances at the 14th Hockey India National Championships 2024. Hockey Haryana, Hockey Jharkhand, Hockey Association of Odisha, Hockey Madhya Pradesh, Hockey Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh Hockey, and Hockey Punjab each won medals across various categories of the tournament and were awarded a cheque of INR 10 lakh each in recognition of their achievements.

Meanwhile, the Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu was awarded Best Member Unit of the Year 2024 for its monumental efforts in revolutionising grassroots hockey through the Tamil Nadu School Hockey League—India’s first-ever statewide school hockey league. This initiative featured 8 districts, 306 schools, over 5,500 players, 500+ matches, and 45+ venues, making it a remarkable step forward for the sport.

Both the Indian Men’s and Women’s Hockey Teams received INR 2.28 crore and INR 1.41 crore, respectively, as incentives. This included a reward of INR 50,000 for each player and INR 25,000 for each support staff member for every international match won.

In the Individual Achievement Awards, Harmanpreet Singh was honoured with INR 10 lakh for winning the FIH Men’s Player of the Year 2024 at the FIH Hockey Star Awards 2024 and an additional INR 1 lakh for the Play of the Tournament at the Men’s Asian Champions Trophy 2024 in Hulunbuir City, China.

PR Sreejesh received INR 5 lakh for being named FIH Men’s Goalkeeper of the Year 2024. Deepika was awarded INR 1 lakh each for finishing as the
Leading Goalscorer and Best Player of the Tournament at the Bihar Women’s Asian Champions Trophy 2024, Rajgir, along with another INR 1 lakh for being the Leading Goal scorer at the Junior Women’s Asia Cup 2024, Muscat, Oman.

Araijeet Singh Hundal was also recognized with INR 1 lakh for winning the Player of the Tournament at the Junior Men’s Asia Cup 2024, Muscat, Oman.

The Milestone Awards 2024 recognised outstanding achievements in international hockey. Boby Singh Dhami, Rutaja Dadaso Pisal, and Sakshi Rana were awarded INR 1 lakh each for scoring a goal in their debut match. Jarmanpreet Singh and Shamsher Singh received INR 1 lakh each for completing 100 international caps, while Vivek Sagar Prasad and Sumit were awarded INR 1.5 lakh each for reaching 150 international caps. Amit Rohidas received INR 2 lakh for completing 200 international caps, and Sushila Chanu was honoured with INR 2.5 lakh for reaching 250 international caps.

The title-winning teams of the Men’s Asian Champions Trophy 2024 in Hulunbuir City, China, and the Women’s Asian Champions Trophy 2024 in Rajgir, Bihar, were each rewarded with INR 3 lakh per player and INR 1.5 lakh per support staff. Meanwhile, the Junior Men’s Asia Cup 2024 and Junior Women’s Asia Cup 2025 winning teams received INR 2 lakh per player and INR 1 lakh per support staff in recognition of their achievements.

Meanwhile, the final category of the Hockey India Annual Awards 2024 began with Ripudaman Sharma winning the Hockey India President Award for Umpire/Umpires Manager of the Year 2024, receiving INR 2.5 lakh. Anil Kumar P K was honoured with the Hockey India President Award for Technical Official of the Year 2024, also receiving INR 2.5 lakh.

The Hockey India President Award for Outstanding Achievement 2024 was awarded to the Beighton Cup Hockey Tournament, which received INR 5 lakh. Additionally, the Hockey India Jaman Lal Sharma Award for Invaluable Contribution 2024 was presented to Prasar Bharati, the official broadcaster of the Hero Hockey India League 2024-25, for its role in expanding the league’s reach across India and globally.

The awards ceremony saw Savita winning the prestigious Hockey India Baljit Singh Award for Goalkeeper of the Year 2024, receiving INR 5 lakh along with a trophy. A pivotal member of the Indian women’s hockey team, Savita has been instrumental in its success and this was her second Goalkeeper of the Year title.

Recognised as one of the world’s best first-rushers, Amit Rohidas won the Hockey India Pargat Singh Award for Defender of the Year 2024, receiving INR 5 lakh.

Hardik Singh, who previously won both the Men’s Player of the Year and Midfielder of the Year awards, clinched the Hockey India Ajit Pal Singh Award for Midfielder of the Year 2024, receiving INR 5 lakh.

Meanwhile, Abhishek, a key figure in India’s forward line, retained his Hockey India Dhanraj Pillay Award for Forward of the Year, also receiving INR 5 lakh and a trophy.

Deepika and Araijeet Singh Hundal, who had breakthrough years with both junior and senior teams, won the titles Hockey India Asunta Lakra Award for Upcoming Player of the Year 2024 (Women Under-21) and Hockey India Jugraj Singh Award for Upcoming Player of the Year 2024 (Men Under-21), respectively, receiving INR 10 lakh and a trophy each. This was Araijeet’s second consecutive award as Upcoming Men’s Player of the Year.

Savita, who recently earned her 300th international cap and has been instrumental in the Indian women’s hockey team’s successes, secured her third
Hockey India Balbir Singh Senior Award for Player of the Year 2024 (Women). Meanwhile, the current Indian men’s team captain, who led India to a bronze medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics and several other memorable victories, won his second Senior Player of the Year award. He was honoured with the same at the 4th Annual Awards in 2021. Both players received INR 25 lakh and a trophy.

In a moment of great significance, the 1975 World Cup-winning team was honoured with the Hockey India Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award 2024, with INR 50 lakh. The legendary players present on the occasion included Shri Leslie Fernandez, Shri Onkar Singh, Shri Ashok Diwan, Shri B P Govinda, Shri Kaliah P E, Brigadier HJS Chimni, Shri V J Phillips (leading scorer in the competition), Shri Ashok Kumar, Shri Aslam Sher Khan, and Brigadier Harcharan Singh.

Shri Ashok Kumar received the award on behalf of the team captain, Shri Ajit Pal Singh, while Mrs Chanchal Randhawa (wife of Late Shri Surjit Singh), Shri Naveen Pawar (son of Late Shri Shivaji Pawar), Shri Satpal Singh (brother of Late Shri Mohinder Singh), Mrs Manjeet Kaur (wife of Late Shri Varinder Singh), and Mrs Sheela Kindo (wife of Late Shri Michael Kindo) were also present on this momentous occasion.

Speaking on the win, Savita said, “I am truly honoured to receive this award for the third time. This achievement wouldn’t have been possible without the unwavering support of my teammates, coaches, family, and hockey fans. I am deeply grateful, and this recognition will only push me to work even harder. Thank you all for your love and encouragement—this one is for all of us!”

Harmanpreet Singh said, “These awards mean a lot—they serve as motivation for the young players watching today. I hope both our men’s and women’s teams continue to give their best without stressing too much about results. I also hope our Indian hockey family keeps winning more and more medals. Today is a very special occasion, and we are fortunate to celebrate it with our legends. Just like them, I hope we bring the World Cup home next year.”