On 8th November 2024, Indian men’s hockey team captain Harmanpreet Singh and former Goalkeeper of Indian hockey team Parattu Raveendran (PR) Sreejesh have won the International Hockey Federation (FIH) Men’s Player of the Year and Men’s Goalkeeper of the Year award, respectively during the ceremony held at the 49th FIH Statutory Congress held in Muscat, Oman.
- Harmanpreet Singh had previously won the FIH Men’s Player of the Year award in 2020-21 and 2021-22.
- He won this title by securing 63.84% of the votes. While, Joop de Mol (the Netherlands) finished at 2nd position with 16.10% of the total vote share.
- The winners were determined through a voting process involving an expert panel, national hockey associations, fans and media.
Winners of FIH Stars Awards 2023-24:
| Award | Name of the Player |
|---|---|
| Men’s Player of the Year | Harmanpreet Singh (India) |
| Women’s Player of the Year | Yibbi Jansen (the Netherlands) |
| Men’s Goalkeeper of the Year | PR Sreejesh (India) |
| Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year | Ye Jiao (China) |
| Men’s Rising Star of the Year | Sufyan Khan (Pakistan) |
| Women’s Rising Star of the Year | Zoe Diaz (Argentina) |
| Coach of the Year (Male) | Jeroen Delmee (the Netherlands) |
| Coach of the Year (Female) | Alyson Annan (China) |
| Umpire of the Year (Male) | Steve Rogers (Australia) |
| Umpire of the Year (Female) | Sarah Wilson (Scotland) |
Harmanpreet Singh:
i.Harmanpreet Singh played an important role in wining of Indian Men’s Hockey team 2nd consecutive bronze medal at 2024 Paris Olympic Games, with 10 goals from 8 matches.
ii.He captained the Indian hockey team to win a Gold medal at the Asian Champions Trophy held in Hulunbuir, China in September 2024, where he was named player of the tournament.
- He was part of India’s gold medal winning team at the 19th Asian Games held in Hangzhou, China.
iii.He has been honoured with various national sports awards like: the Hockey India Balbir Singh Sr. Award for Player of the Year (2021), Arjuna Award (2021), Hockey India Pargat Singh Award for Defender of the Year (2019, 2022 and 2023).
PR Sreejesh:
i.PR Sreejesh, popularly known as “The Wall of India” won his 3rd FIH Men’s Goalkeeper of the Year award. Earlier, he won this title for two consecutive years i.e. in 2021 and 2022.
- He won this title by securing over 62% of the votes. While, the 2nd position was secured by Olympic Gold medallist Pimrin Blaak (the Netherlands), who received 22% of the votes.
ii.During his 18-year long career, he has played for Indian hockey team in 4 Olympic Games since 2012, and secured two Olympic bronze medals (in 2020 and 2024).
- He took retirement from hockey game after 2024 Olympic Games.
iii.He has been honoured with various national and international sports awards like: Arjuna Award (2015), World Games Athlete of the Year (2021), Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award (2021).
- He was also honoured with Padma Shri, India’s 4th highest civilian honour in “Sports” category in 2017.
Related Information:
FIH has formally announced that Oman will host the inaugural edition of the FIH Hockey Nations Cup 2 (men) which scheduled to be held from 17th to 23rd February, 2025
About International Hockey Federation (FIH):
President- Tayyab Ikram
Headquarters- Lausanne, Switzerland
Established- 1924
