Hockey India Annual Awards: Full List of Award Winners, Prize Money, Lifetime Achievement

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The Hockey India 8th Annual Awards on Friday spotlighted top performers and key contributors in Indian hockey from the past year.

Navneet Kaur and Hardik Singh claimed the prestigious Hockey India Balbir Singh Sr. Award for Player of the Year 2025 (INR 20 lakh each) in women's and men's categories. Zafar Iqbal, hero of India's 1980 Moscow Olympics gold and multiple Asian Games medals, received the Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award.

Pre-ceremony honors went to Raghu Prasad RV as FIH Umpire of the Year 2025, Ishika for her debut goal against Uruguay in FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 Qualifiers (Hyderabad), Deepika for the Poligras Magic Skill Award, and Abhishek as Player of the Tournament at Hero Asia Cup Rajgir 2025. Udita shone as Player of the Tournament at Women's Asia Cup Hangzhou 2025, and Navneet Kaur topped FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 Qualifiers (Hyderabad). Individual achievers got INR 1 lakh each.

Seven Member Units-Hockey Jharkhand, Hockey Haryana, Hockey Mizoram, Hockey Punjab, Hockey Madhya Pradesh, Hockey Association of Odisha, and Hockey Uttar Pradesh-earned INR 10 lakh each for 15th Hockey India National Championships 2025 success.

Hero Asia Cup Rajgir 2025 gold medal men's team players received INR 3 lakh each, support staff INR 1.5 lakh. FIH Hockey Men's Junior World Cup Tamil Nadu 2025 bronze winners got INR 5 lakh (players) and INR 2.5 lakh (staff). Men's and women's senior teams earned match-win incentives: INR 1.38 Cr and INR 69 lakh.

Goalkeeper Bichu Devi Kharibam won Hockey India Baljit Singh Award (INR 5 lakh); Sanjay took Defender of the Year (Hockey India Pargat Singh Award); Sumit earned Midfielder (Hockey India Ajit Pal Singh Award); Sukhjeet Singh got Forward (Hockey India Dhanraj Pillay Award)-all INR 5 lakh.

Emerging stars: Prince Deep Singh (Men U21, INR 10 lakh) and Sakshi Rana (Women U21, INR 10 lakh). Officials: Sourabh Singh Rajput (Umpire, INR 2.5 lakh), Biswaranjan Sarangi (Technical Official, INR 2.5 lakh). Hockey Jharkhand was Best Member Unit (INR 2.5 lakh). Shri Sardar Sarpal Singh and Manoj Konbegi received Outstanding Achievement and Invaluable Contribution awards (INR 5 lakh each).

Milestone caps honors: Manpreet Singh (400, INR 4 lakh), Harmanpreet Singh (250, INR 2.5 lakh), Navneet Kaur & Nikki Pradhan (200 each, INR 2 lakh), plus others from 150 to 100 caps.

Dr Mansukh Mandaviya said, "Sports plays an integral role in driving the country forward and hosting the 2030 Commonwealth Games is India's significant step in making its mark on the global stage, as we strive to host the Olympic Games in 2036 as well. Indian Hockey has a strong legacy of 100 years, and has given us eight Olympic medals. So, I am very happy to be here on stage to give honorary awards to players who have made India proud. I'd like to congratulate all the nominees and wish them success in the future."

Raksha Khadse noted, "Hockey has been an integral part of our nation's history. As we mark 100 years of Indian hockey, we are entering a new era, with our teams performing strongly on the global stage. In the vision of a Viksit Bharat, sports will play a key role in driving us forward, supported by the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. With the willingness to work in the right direction, and a successful collaboration between the corporate sector and state governments, we can take Indian hockey to new heights. I congratulate all the players and wish you all continued success."

Navneet Kaur shared, "It's a great honour for me to receive this award and I'm grateful to Hockey India for this prestigious recognition. I want to thank my teammates for their constant belief in me - it's their support that has made this possible. This award means even more to me after our World Cup Qualifiers success, and I hope we can collectively achieve more for India."

Hardik Singh, on his third win: "Receiving this award is the highest honour for any Indian hockey player and I'm grateful to Hockey India for this recognition. This award has only been possible because of the support of my family, teammates and coaches who pushed me through tough moments, especially during the Asia Cup triumph. I'm thankful for everyone's support and motivated to keep fighting for silverware with my team."

Zafar Iqbal added, "I am thankful to Hockey India that you have recognised this small player with such a big award. I'm delighted to be sharing this moment with greats such as Ajit Pal Singh, MP Singh, Aslam Sher Khan, and Dilip Tirkey. My wishes are always with the Indian team, and I want to credit Hockey India for the fantastic job they are doing to take our sport forward."

Hockey India 8th Annual Awards 2025

INR 5,00,000 - Hockey India Baljit Singh Award for Goalkeeper of the Year
Winner: Bichu Devi Kharibam

INR 5,00,000 - Hockey India Pargat Singh Award for Defender of the Year
Winner: Sanjay

INR 5,00,000 - Hockey India Ajit Pal Singh Award for Midfielder of the Year
Winner: Sumit

INR 5,00,000 - Hockey India Dhanraj Pillay Award for Forward of the Year
Winner: Sukhjeet Singh

INR 10,00,000 - Hockey India Asunta Lakra Award for Upcoming Player of the Year (Women - Under 21)
Winner: Sakshi Rana

INR 10,00,000 - Hockey India Jugraj Singh Award for Upcoming Player of the Year (Men - Under 21)
Winner: Prince Deep Singh

INR 20,00,000 - Hockey India Balbir Singh Sr. Award for Player of the Year (Women)
Winner: Navneet Kaur

INR 20,00,000 - Hockey India Balbir Singh Sr. Award for Player of the Year (Men)
Winner: Hardik Singh

INR 25,00,000 - Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award
Winner: Zafar Iqbal