The Indian men’s hockey team is aiming for a historic campaign at the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 in January, and Hockey India announced cash prizes for the team and support staff on Wednesday.
The national governing body of hockey will award INR 25 lakh each to members of the Indian team led by Harmanpreet Singh for their gold medal-winning performance at the prestigious quadrennial event, while members of the support staff will receive INR 5 lakh each. India last stood on the World Cup podium in 1975, when they defeated Pakistan in the Final in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
A silver medal would entitle the players to INR 15 lakh, while the support staff would receive INR 3 lakh for their contributions to the campaign. And if Harmanpreet and company win a bronze medal, they will receive INR 10 lakh each, while the support staff will receive INR 2 lakh.
The decision was made by the Hockey India Executive Board in a virtual meeting on December 24 in order to boost the morale of the Indian Team for the prestigious competition, which will feature 16 of the world’s top teams competing for honors.
“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 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.
Source:IANS