New Delhi: Indian men’s team forward Abhishek is elated after being nominated for two awards at the Hockey India Annual 2023, which will be presented at a function in New Delhi on Sunday. Abhishek, who enjoyed a tremendous year thanks to his consistent performances, has been nominated in two categories – Hockey India Dhanraj Pillai Award for Forward of the Year 2023 (Men) and Hockey India Balbir Singh Senior Award for Player of the Year 2023. (Male)
This year’s awards ceremony has an unprecedented total prize money of Rs 7.56 crore. A total of 32 nominations spread across eight categories have made the shortlist for these annual awards.
The prestigious award ceremony was attended by Olympians Raghbir Lal, A.S. Bakshi, Harbinder Singh, Ashok Dewan, Zafar Iqbal, Ajit Pal Singh, Romeo James, Jagbir Singh, M.P. Hockey legends including Singh, and Vineet Kumar will be in attendance. Hockey India President Dr. Dilip Tirkey, General Secretary Bhola Nath Singh and Treasurer Shekhar J. Manoharan will be present along with members of the Hockey India Executive Board. Other notable attendees included R. Vinil Krishna, IAS, Commissioner-cum-Secretary DSYS, Odisha, Dr. Atulya Mishra, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Tamil Nadu, and Meghnath Reddy, IAS, Member Secretary SDAT, Tamil Nadu.
Speaking on his double nomination, Abhishek said, “It is a great honor for me to be nominated in two categories this year. I would like to thank the support staff at Hockey India, our coaches and my teammates who have continuously supported me. ” He gave me advice whenever I needed it. Because of their constant support, I gained confidence and was able to perform independently.”
Abhishek, who scored three goals in six matches at the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s Hockey World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela, continued his form at the Hangzhou Asian Games, where he scored nine goals in seven matches, helping his team win the gold medal. He was also named Player of the Match after India’s thrilling 2-2 (8-7 shoot-out) win over Spain in the FIH Men’s Hockey Pro League 2023/24 in Rourkela last month.
Recalling the past year, Abhishek said, “It was a good year for me. Every time I step out on the field wearing the Indian jersey, my aim is to ensure that I help my team get the desired results.” “To do my best.”
“More than individual achievements, it is about ensuring that the team performs well and that they are able to find me in the desired position at the right time, and I have achieved this,” he was quoted as saying by Hockey India in a release on Saturday. This is what we have worked on throughout the year. I hope we continue to improve as we move forward in the current year.”
With the Paris Olympics around the corner, the Indian men’s hockey team will tour Australia to compete in a five-match Test series against the world No. 5 team. On the importance of the tour, Abhishek said that the upcoming series is an opportunity for the Indian team to work on key areas before the Olympics.
“This is an important year for everyone as the Paris Olympics are coming up. Our team is focused on improving ourselves ahead of major competitions and so, we are all looking forward to Australia to really test ourselves and our strategies.” Looking forward to the tour.”
–IANS
