India sweeps FIH annual awards; men's Olympic champion Belgium says this is not normal
The HinduIndia swept the International Hockey Federation's annual awards on Wednesday, claiming the top honours in all the categories based on a system of voting which was lambasted as a "failure" by men's Olympic champions Belgium. Veteran PR Sreejesh and Savita Punia won the best goalkeeper awards in the men's and women's section, while young striker Sharmila Devi and Vivek Sagar Prasad were adjudged best rising stars. Belgium duo of Alexander Hendrickx and Arthur van Doren were voted second and third best players respectively among men, with Vincent Vanasch named second best goalkeeper and Shane McLeod of New Zealand second best coach. With the FIH Hockey Stars Awards skipped in 2020 due to the impact of the COVID-19 global health pandemic on the international calendar, this year's awards covered the period from January 2020 through to the conclusion of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, the FIH said.