Bengaluru, March 3: India men's and women's hockey captains Manpreet Singh and Rani Rampal were nominated for Dhruv Batra Player of the Year award in male and female category respectively on Tuesday by Hockey India for its third Annual Awards scheduled on March 8.

These awards are given in recognition of excellence in performance for the year 2019 and overall contribution to the game of hockey. The third edition of the most coveted awards in Indian hockey carries a total prize money of INR 1.30 Crore along with a trophy in each of the category. The awards will be held on Sunday (March 8) in New Delhi.

Manpreet, who became the first Indian to win the FIH Best Player of the Year award earlier this month, was nominated for guiding the team to Tokyo Olympic berth. He was named alongside Harmanpreet Singh, Mandeep Singh and Surender Kumar for the award which carries a prize money of Rs 25 lakh.

India's women team captain Rani, who became the first-ever hockey player to win the prestigious World Games Athlete of the year award last month, was nominated for along with Deep Grace Ekka, Gurjit Kaur and Savita.

Teenager Vivek Sagar Prasad, who had won the FIH Men's Rising Star of the Year, was nominated for Jugraj Singh Upcoming Player of the Year 2019 (Men-Under 21) along with Dilpreet Singh, Gursahibjit Singh and Mandeep Mor. The award carries a proze money of Rs 10 lakh.

The nominations for Asunta Lakra Upcoming Player of the Year 2019 (Women-Under 21) included forward Lalremsiami, who had won the 2019 FIH Women's Rising Star of the Year, Salima Tete and Sharmila Devi.

Rani was also named in the list of nomination for Dhanraj Pillay Award for Forward of the Year, which has a purse of Rs 5 lakh, along with Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Mandeep Singh and Navneet Kaur. For Rs 5 lakh Ajit Pal Singh Award (Midfielder of the Year), Manpreet and Vivek Sagar was nominated along with Monika and Neha Goyal. Deep Grace, Harmanpreet Singh, Surender and Varun Kumar were nominated for Pargat Singh Award (Defender of the Year), which also carries a prize purse of Rs 5 lakh.

India custodian PR Sreejesh along with Krishan B Pathak, Rajani Etimarpu and Savita were nominated for Baljit Singh Award for Goalkeeper of the Year. The nomination for Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award (Rs 30 lakh), President's Award for Outstanding Achievement (Rs 5 lakh) and Jaman Lal Sharma Award for Invaluable Contribution (Rs 5 lakh) will be announced during the function.

Source: PTI & Hockey India Release