JOIN USIndia’s SV Sunil and Harmanpreet Singh have been named as the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) Player of the Year and Promising Player of the Year 2016 respectively.
While Harmanpreet was named the Promising Player of the Year in the junior men’s category, Sunil has been honoured in the senior men’s section.
The nominations for these awards were made by coaches of the national teams across Asia and the criteria was based on the player’s performance in the last year.
Sunil has been a key member of the Indian side over the past few years and played a vital role in India’s successful outing at last year’s Champions Trophy where they won a historic silver medal.
“This award is an icing on the cake. I believe Indian hockey is growing year by year and we have enjoyed some memorable victories in 2016,” Sunil said on the recognition.
“This award could not have been possible if not for our team work.
“I would like to thank Hockey India for their efforts, our coaches and support staff too who work with us day in and day out as one big family,” he added.
Harmanpreet, meanwhile, had a great 2016 with the Indian junior team winning the World Cup in December.
He was also part of the senior team at the 2016 Olympics and the Champions Trophy.
“I am very excited to receive this award. I have said this before that awards and recognition are motivations for a young player like me to improve on my skills and come up with memorable performances,” said the Punjab player.