It was double delight for Indian hockey as Lalremsiami was named 2019 FIH Women’s Rising Star of the Year along with Vivek Prasad who took the honour in the men’s section earlier.

VIVEK SAGAR PRASAD did India proud when he was awarded the 2019 FIH Men’s Rising Star of the Year, the world body announced on its website on Monday.

The 19-year-old midfielder from Madhya Pradesh claimed the honour ahead of Argentina’s Maico Casella and Blake Govers of Australia who finished second and third respectively.

Prasad dedicated his award to his teammates and coaching staff and received a warm felicitation from Graham Reid and the Indian team management who unveiled the announcement on a giant screen.

Prasad donned India colours when only 17, taking the pitch at a four-nation tournament in New Zealand in 2018 and has since represented the country nearly 60 times.

He was also captain of the silver-medal winning Hockey 5s India U-18 team at the 2018 Buenos Aires Youth Olympics.

The youngster has also proved to have a nose for goal and scored twice at the 2019 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup where India finished runners-up to South Korea. Prasad scored six goals across tournaments last year in the 24 matches he played.

Prasad was on target again in the final of the FIH Series Finals when he scored against South Africa to help his country win 5-1 at the Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar, en route to qualifying for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics with a resounding win over Russia (4-2, 7-1) in a double leg qualifier at the same venue.

In Sunday’s FIH Pro League second match against Belgium, Prasad scored an opportunistic goal albeit in a 2-3 defeat after India won the first match 2-1.

Prasad duly won the Best Young Player of the tournament at the FIH Series Finals, kept blossoming as an effervescent midfielder and is now an important cog in head coach Graham Reid’s blueprint as the team gears up for the Olympics.

Voting involved National Associations, media, fans and players. Prasad drew 34.5 % of the votes.

LALREMSIAMI

The sparkling forward from Mizoram won the award ahead of Argentina’s Julieta Jankunas and Frederique Matla of the Netherlands who finished second and third respectively.

The 19-year-old caught the eye at the Women’s World Cup in London in 2018 and did much to help India cement a place in the top 10 of the FIH Rankings.

Lalremsiami has top scored in the 2017 series against South Korea and the one against Spain in 2019. She scored the winning goal against Japan in the final of the Ready Steady Tokyo event (a test run for the Olympics) in 2019.

But Lalremsiami will be remembered for her fortitude in playing on in the 2019 FIH Series Finals in Hiroshima, Japan, despite receiving the news of her father’s demise.

She said she wanted to stay in Hiroshima and help India win a place in the FIH Olympic Qualifers in the memory of her father.

India duly qualified for the double header against USA, winning in thrilling fashion (5-1, 1-4) to book their place in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Voting involved National Associations, media, fans and players. Lalremsiami drew 22% of the votes.

VIVEK SAGAR PRASAD ON GETTING THE COVETED RECOGNITION

“I think there is no better feeling than representing your country at the highest level,” he said. “When I was younger, I would be more interested in badminton and chess, but as things turned out, I slowly shifted to hockey, and I can’t thank my family, Coaches and friends enough for what they have done for me. This is such a good feeling, and I want to thank everyone who voted for me. This award is a huge recognition, and I just want to make sure that I keep working hard, maintain my focus, and bring laurels for the country”

“I have a family who have always supported me, and I could not be much happier to have them in my life. It was a really emotional moment for me and my family when I called them informing that I had won this award as they have always sacrificed a lot for my career, but as they say, the price of success is hard work, dedication and sacrifice,” expressed Vivek, who had also Captained the India U-18 Team to Silver Medal at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina”.

“I am also thankful to all my Coaches as well who identified me and motivated me to do better. Their support and motivation each day has led me to the Indian team, and makes me want to win more trophies and medals with the team.”

“Initially when the nominations were declared, I was in my room after training, and Manpreet bhai was the first person who informed me. I thought he was kidding, but then he showed me the official FIH website, so I was really happy. Then on Monday when the actual winner was to be announced, our Chief Coach had called everyone for a team meeting before dinner, so I thought it would be a routine team meeting, but there I was given a fantastic surprise by my Coaches, teammates and Hockey India, and I was really elated with joy.”

“I think I was just focusing on doing my basics right. There was an opportunity to go forward as well, now and then, so I utilized that during the first goal. I think we had a few opportunities throughout the match, but we couldn’t convert. However, personally, I think I was able to perform well because I was playing my natural game according to my strengths.”