The Indian men’s hockey team midfielder Vivek Sagar Prasad is being nominated for the FIH Rising Star of the Year Award. He is among the six players suggested for the accolade, as per the release issued by Hockey India.
Vivek was part of the national team that claimed Bronze at the recently concluded Tokyo Olympics. To him, this is a dreamlike moment as he has already been honoured with the award in the 2019-2020 season.
“I never imagined this would happen again. It is a surreal feeling to have been nominated for the second time in the same category (FIH Rising Star of the Year Award),” expressed Vivek graciously.
“I got to know this late in the night when I saw texts from my friends congratulating me. To be honest, it’s really overwhelming,” he continued, as quoted by The Hindu.
The Indian Hockey body prepared the shortlist of all the divisions of FIH Awards 2020-21.
“It’s the result of teamwork and the support of senior players,” said the 21-year old while expressing gratitude to his seniors.
“Since my debut, the seniors have been the biggest source of motivation. They have helped me play my natural game without any fear or pressure. That is the biggest reason why I could win the 2019 FIH Rising Star of the Year Award and also stand a chance to receive the honour for the second time,” he added further.
He also pops off his feelings of winning the Bronze against Germany at the quadrennial games. “I still can’t believe I was part of the Olympic medal-winning team,” he voiced.
“It’s a dream of every athlete and I am really blessed to be able to live this dream at the age of 21.”
Asserting about the efforts put down by the team to execute an exemplary play in the next game, Vivek said, “…this is just the beginning and there’s still a lot of room for improvement. We have raised the bar and we have to do even better. There will be more challenges ahead and we need to be fully prepared for whatever comes our way.”
