Indians figure prominently in the International Hockey Federation's nominations for the annual FIH Player of the Year Awards.
Junior World Cup-winning captain Gagan Ajit Singh, penalty-corner ace Jugraj Singh and dashing forward Prabhjot Singh are among ten players shortlisted for the Young Player of the Year award, while goalkeeper Devesh Chauhan and defender Dilip Tirkey, who led India to the gold medal at the Afro-Asian Games, have been nominated in a ten-man list for the Senior Player of the Year award.
The nominations:
Young Player of the Year
Floris Evers (The Netherlands)
Alex Fabregas (Spain)
Till Kriwet (Germany)
Matias Paredes (Argentina)
Grant Schubert (Australia)
Gagan Ajit Singh (India)
Jugraj Singh (India)
Prabhjot Singh (India)
Taeke Taekema (The Netherlands)
Eduard Tubau (Spain)
Senior Player of the Year
Sohail Abbas (Pakistan)
Waseem Ahmad (Pakistan)
Pablo Amat (Spain)
Devesh Chauhan (India)
Troy Elder (Australia)
Brent Livermore (Australia)
Jorge Lombi (Argentina)
Teun de Nooijer (The Netherlands)
Xavier Ribas (Spain)
Dilip Tirkey (India)
The international selection panel for the awards is as follows:
Coaches: Ric Charlesworth, FIH Master Coach (Australia) and Paul Lissek, FIH Master Coach (Germany)
Journalists: Bruce Hamilton (Australia), Sardar Khan (Pakistan), S. Thyagarajan (India), Pat Rowley (England).
FIH president Mrs Els van Breda Vriesman said, "With every nomination a worthy winner, I'm sure that this year's Player of the Year awards will again provoke intense discussion amongst the hockey community. Whoever the winners, I'm sure that the international panel will draw from their unquestionable expertise to acclaim four excellent ambassadors for our sport."
The women's nominations will be announced on December 4, in order to take into consideration performances during the BDO Hockey Champions Trophy in Sydney Australia.
All winners will be determined by a secret ballot amongst the panel members.
Both the men's and women's winners will be announced on December 5, 2003, at the OneWorld Sport, Parramatta, in Sydney.
