Times of India: Sunil, Harmanpreet win AHF awards for brilliant 2016

MUSCAT: Ace forward SV Sunil and young dragflicker Harmanpreet Singh has 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 2016 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 of nomination was based on the performance of the year gone by.

Harmanpreet had a stupendous 2016 with the Indian junior men’s team winning the Junior World Cup in Lucknow. He was also part of the senior men’s team at the 2016 Rio Olympics and the FIH Champions Trophy in London where India won a historic silver medal.

“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. I believe 2016 was a great year for Indian hockey and I would like to thank the AHF for honouring me with this prestigious award and Hockey India for their ongoing support,” said Harmanpreet, who is currently part of the Indian senior men’s national camp that is preparing for next month’s Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.

Sunil, on the other hand, played a vital role in India’s successful outing at FIH Champions Trophy in London last year where he led the forwardline.

Considered to be one of the fastest men on the pitch in the world, Sunil has also served as the team’s vice-captain.
The Coorg lad thanked the AHF for the award.

“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. 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,” Sunil said.

“It is always a good feeling to be recognised with such awards as it only adds to a player’s motivation to improve.”