Two-time Olympic medallist Hardik Singh and Navneet Kaur won the coveted Balbir Singh Sr Award for Player of the Year in the men’s and women’s categories, respectively, at the Hockey India Annual Awards 2025 ceremony in New Delhi on Friday.
After securing his third Balbir Singh Sr Award for Player of the Year (men), Hardik Singh, who won bronze at the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympics, said, “Receiving this award is the highest honour for any Indian hockey player. I’m grateful to Hockey India for this recognition.
“This award has only been possible because of the support of my family, teammates and coaches who pushed me through tough moments, especially during the Asia Cup triumph. I’m thankful for everyone’s support and motivated to keep fighting for silverware with my team,” he added.
Two-time Asian Games medallist Navneet Kaur also expressed immense pride after winning the women’s award for Player of the Year.
“It’s a great honour for me to receive this award,” she said. “This award means even more to me after our World Cup Qualifiers success, and I hope we can collectively achieve more for India.”
Zafar Iqbal, who played an integral part in India’s gold medal win at the Moscow 1980 Olympics and also won two silvers at the Asian Games in 1978 and 1982, received the Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award.
“I am thankful to Hockey India that you have recognised this small player with such a big award. I’m delighted to be sharing this moment with greats such as Ajit Pal Singh, MP Singh, Aslam Sher Khan and Dilip Tirkey,” Zafar Iqbal said after his win.
The Baljit Singh Award for Goalkeeper of the Year 2025 was awarded to Bichu Devi Kharibam, while Sanjay received the Pargat Singh Award for Defender of the Year 2025.
Sumit won the Ajit Pal Singh Award for Midfielder of the Year 2025, while the Dhanraj Pillay Award for Forward of the Year 2025 was won by Sukhjeet Singh.
Among the emerging talents, Prince Deep Singh won the Jugraj Singh Award for Upcoming Player of the Year 2025 (Men-U21), while Sakshi Rana secured the Asunta Lakra Award for Upcoming Player of the Year 2025 (Women-U21).
Earlier in the day, Deepika was recognised for winning the Poligras Magic Skill Award, while Abhishek was honoured for being named Player of the Tournament at the Hero Asia Cup Rajgir, Bihar 2025.
Udita was also recognised for being named Player of the Tournament at the Women’s Asia Cup Hangzhou, China 2025, while Navneet Kaur was honoured for being named Player of the Tournament at the FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 Qualifiers in Hyderabad.
READ MORE: https://www.olympics.com/en/news/hockey-india-annual-awards-2025-winners-list
