Indian Men’s Hockey Team created history in the Paris Olympics 2024. They won the bronze medal in Paris winning 2-1 against Spain in the third-place match at the Paris 2024 Olympics. They also won the Asian Championship, defeating China. It has been the finest year of hockey in the country. The next competition will see the development of several fresh young Indian players. They will eventually go on to represent the country at the highest levels.
Two awards were presented to the team’s legends at the 49th FIH Statutory Congress in Oman on Friday. Indian men’s hockey team captain Harmanpreet Singh was named Player of the Year 2024. Retired goalkeeper PR Sreejesh was awarded Goalkeeper of the Year. The winners were determined by a vote by an Expert Panel, National Associations (represented by their respective national team captains and coaches), fans, and the media.
Harmanpreet Singh stood out among the men’s nominees, earning the highest votes from all categories of voters. Similar to Yibbi Jansen in the women’s competition, Indian captain Harmanpreet led the scoring charts at the Paris 2024 Olympics with ten goals. This included goals in the quarterfinals and semi-finals. Both goals were in the bronze medal match against Spain, which India won 2-1 to secure their second consecutive Olympic podium finish.
PR Sreejesh deserved the Player of the Year
Did Sreejesh deserve the FIH award more than Harmanpreet? Harmanpreet was also an important member of the Indian squad that ended their 41-year podium drought at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. He has won the FIH Player of the Year title twice: in 2020-21 and 2021-22. The third one may be the most valuable. Since it was gained while leading his country for the first time after taking over leadership in 2023.
He guided his side to an Olympic medal in his first attempt. PR Sreejesh ended his brilliant career in the Paris 2024 Olympics by adding a second Olympic medal to his trophy cabinet, and now he can add a third FIH Goalkeeper of the Year accolade to his collection, having won the honour in 2020-21 and 2021-22. Sreejesh waved farewell to hockey at the greatest level, putting together an outstanding Olympic campaign.
