New Delhi, 21 April 2005:Star hockey goalkeeper Adrian D’Souza and women team’s spearhead Jyothi Sunita Kullu have been chosen for the sixth hockey year book ‘Player of the year 2004’ awards in the men’s and women’s section. Young William Xalco is named the ‘Rising Star of 2004’ and Punjab & Sind Bank as the ’Best Domestic Team’. Hockey Year Book Awards are being announced since 1995.

The innovative and successful Premier Hockey League is declared as the ‘Event of the Year’ while Mathukaran, former women’s national coach and presently administrator of Gachibowli hockey stadium, Hyderabad, is hailed as the “Official of the Year’ in the forthcoming Hockey Year Book 2005, according to a release from the author of the book, K. Arumugam.

Mumbai’s Adrian, 20, steered India to the Junior Asia Cup final with a tie-breaker success against South Korea in the semis. On form he was promoted as first goalkeeper for Athens Olympics, where he came out with flying colours. Adivasi girl Jyothi Sunita Kullu, 25, scored vital goals in the Senior Nationals and Federation Cup which helped Railways to annex both the titles, besides shining in the Asia Cup which India won for the first time early last year.

Another adivasi William Xalco, 20, an Air India Academy product, made his senior international debut as defender in the 2004 Sultan Azlan Cup and has been a fixture since then in every Indian assignment. Both Adrian and Xalco will play this year Junior World Cup.

Punjab & Sind Bank hockey team started the 2004-2005 season winning the Beighton Cup in April 2004 and finished it in emphatic style with the Nationals’ title at Hyderabad recently. PSB is the only fourth institutional team to annex the Nationals after the Indian Railways, Services and Indian Airlines.

The television blitz Premier Hockey League pips many Indian events such as Nationals, Indo-Pak series to be named ‘Event of the Year’ for its effective organization and innovation.

Starting from Afro Asian Games in late 2003, Hyderabad’s Gachibowli hockey stadium hosted many high profile events including Indo-Pak Test Series, Nationals, PHL, Women’s Junior Asia Cup, besides many national camps. The stadium administrator Madhukaran, under whose training Indian women won their first bronze in the Champions Challenge Cup in South Africa, draws commendation for his commitment to the job that helped successful staging of these hockey events.

Hockey year book has been presenting bi-annual awards since 1995 and some of the former recipients include Dilip Tirkey, Lajrus Barla, Dhanraj Pillay, Devesh Chauhan and Sarabhjit Kumar (BSF) in the men’s category while winner in the women’s category include Pritam Rani Siwach, Sandeep Kaur, Sita Gussain and Manjinder Kaur.

The selected players will be honoured at award ceremony which will coincide with the release of the Hockey Year Book 2005, to be held next month.

For further details contact (delhi)55738210 or email hockeybook@gmail.com.