LAUSANNE, Dec 6: Indian men�s hockey captain Manpreet Singh was on Friday nominated for the Player of the Year award by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) after he led the country to a Tokyo Olympics berth.
Two other Indian players, Vivek Prasad and Lalremsiami, were also nominated for the men�s and women�s FIH Rising Star of the Year Award respectively.
The 27-year-old Manpreet, a veteran of 242 international caps, is the midfield pivot of the Indian team. Under his captaincy, India beat Russia 11-3 on aggregate in Bhubaneswar last month to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.
The 19-year-old Prasad, a midfielder, led the Indian team in the Youth Olympics last year where the country won a silver medal. He was alsonamed the best young player at the FIH Series Finals this year.
Lalremsiami, a forward, was a part of the Asian Games silver-winning women�s squad. She is also 19 years of age.
Australians Eddie Ockenden and Aran Zalewski, Argentina�s Lucas Vila and Belgians Arthur Van Doren and Victor Wegnez were the other five nominees for the prestigious FIH Player of the Year award.
Ockenden, a 32-year-old veteran of 340 matches, and Zalewski led the Australian team in their country�s multi-player captaincy policy and they were part of the FIH Pro League 2019 gold winning team. Zalewski was named the best player of the tournament. � PTI
