Hockey Men's World Cup 2023: Hockey India announces cash prize to boost the morale of Indian Men's Team

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New Delhi, Dec 28: As Team India eyes a historic campaign in the FIH Hockey Men's World Cup 2023, Hockey India on Wednesday (December 28) announced cash prizes for the team and support staff to boost their morale further.

The decision was taken by the Hockey India Executive Board in a virtual meeting on December 24 as a way to further boost the morale of the Indian side. The Hockey World Cup 2023 - which is being held in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela - will see 16 top teams of the world vie for honours.

India's last gold medal at the Hockey World Cup came in 1975 when they finished at the top of the podium after beating arch-rivals Pakistan in the Final held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Cash prize for Indian Men's Hockey Team for Gold Medal

For the gold medal-winning feat in the upcoming quadrennial event, the National Governing Body for hockey has announced a reward of Rs 25 lakh for each member of the Harmanpreet Singh-led Indian squad. While the members of the support staff will be honoured with Rs 5 lakh each.

Prize money for Silver and Bronze Medal Finish

A Silver medal would see the players walk away with Rs 15 lakh and the support staff would be awarded Rs 3 lakh for their role in the campaign.

And if the team - which bagged a bronze medal at the Tokyo 2022 - replicates its performance from the Olympic Games and wins a Bronze Medal in the showpiece event at home, every member of the team will be awarded Rs 10 lakh each, while the support staff would be entitled to a prize of Rs 2 lakh.

HI president Dilip Tirkey makes the big announcement

"Finishing on the podium at a Senior Men's World Cup is not an easy task, and we hope this announcement will further increase the motivation levels of the already glory-hungry Indian Men's Hockey Team. Winning a medal in a home World Cup would surely go down as one of the best memories for the players in their decorated careers. We wish them the very best for the FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela," said Hockey India President Padma Shri Dr Dilip Tirkey.

"The Indian Men's Hockey Team is the pride of the nation and we want them to scale all the possible peaks in the sport. To help them achieve that, and to further motivate them towards this target, we have announced this prize for the team. Harmanpreet and Co are very able and talented players and we are sure they will do the best they can to finish with a medal," said Hockey India's Secretary General Bholanath Singh.

Performance of Indian Hockey Team in the Hockey World Cup

India has previously won three medals at this prestigious event. The team registered a Bronze Medal at the first edition of the prestigious event in 1971 followed by a Silver Medal in the Amstelveen Hockey World Cup in 1973 apart from a title win in 1975.

HI believes that the announcement of prize money will be a shot in the arm for the players who are leaving no stone unturned in their preparations for the mega event on home soil. Team India has been working hard to end the wait of finishing the podium.

Indian Hockey Team & Schedule for Hockey World Cup 2023

Last week, Hockey India announced the 18-member team for the global tournament.

The Indian team, which is in pool D with England, Spain, and Wales, will begin their campaign on January 13 in the newly built Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela against Spain, followed by their second pool D match against England.

They will travel to Bhubaneswar for their third pool match against Wales. The knockout stage will begin with crossover matches on January 22 and January 23, followed by quarterfinals on January 25 and semifinals on January 27.

The Bronze Medal match and the Final will be held on January 29.

India Squad for the Hockey World Cup:

Goalkeepers

Krishan Bahadur Pathak

PR Sreejesh

Defenders

Jarmanpreet Singh

Surender Kumar

Harmanpreet Singh (Captain)

Varun Kumar

Amit Rohidas (Vice Captain)

Nilam Sanjeep Xess

Midfielders

Manpreet Singh

Hardik Singh

Nilakanta Sharma

Shamsher Singh

Vivek Sagar Prasad

Akashdeep Singh

Forward

Mandeep Singh

Lalit Kumar Upadhyay

Abhishek

Sukhjeet Singh

Alternate Players

Rajkumar Pal

Jugraj Singh.