Prasad was a member of the historic India men's hockey team that won the bronze medal in the recently concluded Tokyo Olympics.
Indian hockey star Vivek Sagar Prasad was recently nominated for the FIH Rising Star of the Year award. Prasad was a member of the historic India men’s hockey team that won the bronze medal in the recently concluded Tokyo Olympics. This is the second time in his career that the midfielder has been nominated for the award and he was over the moon when he learned of it. Prasad had already won the award in the 2019-20 season and will become one of the few to have won it twice in their career. He helped the team win an Olympics medal after over four decades and has already written his name in the history books of Indian sports. This award will be yet another feather in the illustrious cap of the midfielder.
“I never imagined this would happen again. It’s a surreal feeling to have been nominated for the second time in the same category (FIH Rising Star of the Year Awards),” Prasad, who is one of the six nominated players, said in a release issued by Hockey India. “I got to know this late in the night when I saw texts from my friends congratulating me for this. To be honest, it’s really overwhelming,” he added. There was no attempt to hide his emotions as Prasad seemed over the moon. He was incredibly proud of his achievement as he rightfully should be.
The Indian hockey contingent made the shortlist of all the categories of FIH Awards 2020-21 following the glorious achievement of bagging an Olympics medal after more than four long decades at Tokyo a few weeks earlier. The midfielder, who is currently 21, played an important role in the team’s success. He went on to express his gratitude to the senior players of the team for his nominations.
“It’s the result of teamwork and the support of senior players. Since my debut, senior players have been the biggest source of my motivation,” he said. “They have helped me play my natural game without any fear and pressure, and that is the biggest reason behind why I could win the 2019 FIH Rising Star of the Year Award and also stand a chance to win the accolade for the second time,” Prasad added.
The 21-year-old said that he still has not gotten over the feeling of winning an Olympic medal for India. For any Indian hockey side, the Olympic medalists the country has produced in the past are the stuff of folklore. To be counted in the same category is certainly a feat that can feel overwhelming at times. Prasad certainly has deserved all the plaudits he has received and there is a lot more to come from the youngster.
“I still can’t believe I was part of the Olympic medal-winning team. It’s a dream of every athlete, and I am really blessed to be able to live this dream at the age of 21,” he said. “However, we also need to realise that 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,” Prasad concluded.