Drag-flick experts Harmanpreet Singh and Gurjit Kaur were named the FIH Player of the Year in the men바카라s and women바카라s categories, respectively.
India swept the International Hockey Federation바카라s (FIH) annual awards on Wednesday, claiming the top honours in all the categories based on a system of voting which was lambasted as a 바카라failure바카라 by men바카라s Olympic champions Belgium. (More Hockey News)
Five Indian players and the head coaches of both the men바카라s and women바카라s teams in Tokyo claimed the top honours across different categories after fetching the maximum votes.
The men바카라s hockey team had won a bronze, it's first in 41 years, in the Tokyo Olympics, while the women's side had finished an unprecedented fourth in the showpiece. Harmanpreet Singh won the men바카라s 바카라Player of the Year바카라 award and Gurjit Kaur was recognised as the best player in the women바카라s section.
Veteran PR Sreejesh and Savita Punia won the best goalkeeper awards in the men바카라s and women바카라s section, while young striker Sharmila Devi (women) and Vivek Sagar Prasad (men) were adjudged best rising stars.
The drag-click duo of Harmanpreet and Gurjit were the top-scorers in their respective team바카라s stellar run at the Tokyo Olympics. Men's team coach Graham Reid and women's coach Sjoerd Marijne were also voted the best. While Reid is still with the team, Marijne바카라s tenure ended after the Tokyo Olympics.
Hockey Belgium reacted sharply to the announcement of the winners and questioned the process as none of their Tokyo Olympics champions managed to win an award.
바카라Hockey Belgium is very disappointed with the outcome of @FIH_Hockey Star Awards. A gold winning team with multiple nominees in all categories but doesn바카라t win a single award demonstrates failure of the voting system. We will work with FIH to ensure a fairer system in the future,바카라 it tweeted.
The sentiment was shared by the team바카라s official handle as well. 바카라We fully agree! This is not normal! The credibility and image of our sport is once again facing hard times. It's a pitty (sic) @FIH,바카라 stated the Red Lions.
Votes from National Associations -- represented by their respective national captains and coaches 바카라 accounted for 50 per cent of the overall result, while fans and players (25 per cent), as well as media (25 per cent), made the other half of the votes.
In all, 79 National Associations voted (Africa: 11 out of 25 Member Associations; Asia: 29 out of 33; Europe: 19 out of 42; Oceania: 3 out of 8; Pan America: 17 out of 30), said a statement from FIH.
바카라And with a record number of almost 300,000 fans casting their votes, fan participation in the FIH Hockey Stars Awards has been exceptional,바카라 it added.
The nominations from Belgium (men) and the Netherlands (women), who were not only crowned Olympic Champions but also won the 2020-21 FIH Hockey Pro League finished behind the Indians once the votes were counted.
Belgium duo of Alexander Hendrickx and Arthur van Doren were voted second and third best players respectively among men, with Vincent Vanasch (Belgium) named second-best goalkeeper and Shane McLeod of New Zealand second-best coach.
Among women, Eva de Goede and Frederique Matla of the Netherlands clinched the respective second and third places in the Player of the Year awards while Alyson Annan of Australia finished second for the FIH Coach of the Year Award.
Great Britain goalkeeper Maddie Hinch, rising star Fiona Crackles and coach Mark Hager of Australia all were third in their respective categories.
With the FIH Hockey Stars Awards skipped in 2020 due to the impact of the COVID-19 global health pandemic on the international calendar, this year바카라s awards covered the period from January 2020 through to the conclusion of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, the FIH said.
Hockey India President Gyanendro Ningombam congratulated the winners. 바카라This is a great moment for Indian hockey as all our Indian nominees for the FIH Stars Awards have been announced winners. After the historic performances in Tokyo by both Indian Men and Women바카라s Hockey teams, the support from Indian fans from across the globe has been overwhelming,바카라 he said.