WC 2023: Hockey India announces prize money for Harmanpreet Singh-led team on podium finish

2023 will begin with a bangfor hockey lovers in India. The Harmanpreet Singh-led Team India is gearing up for the Hockey World Cup in Bhubaneshwar next month. The tournament will be held in Bhubaneswar-Rourkela and the national side will aim to kick off in style and return with the coveted title. In the last edition of the World Cup, also held in Odisha, hosts India were eliminated in the quarter-finals. In order to motivate the Indian squad,Hockey India recently announced cash prizes for the team and the support staff.

It is to be noted the National Governing Body for hockey will reward the Indian team with Rs 25 lakh (INR 2.5 million) each if they ensure a gold medal at the forthcoming showpiece event. Meanwhile,the members of the support staff will be honoured with Rs 5 lakheach. On the other hand, a silver-medal finish will lead to the players walk away with Rs 15 lakheach whereas the support staff will be given Rs 3 lakh. For a bronze finish, Harmanpreet & Co. will be rewarded with Rs 10 lakheach with the support staff getting Rs 2 lakh. India last attained a podium finish in 1975 -- 47 years ago -- but will feel confident entering the mega event, on home soil, following their bronze-medal finish in Tokyo 2020. In Commonwealth Games 2022, the Men in Blue returned with a silver medal.

Hockey India President Dilip Tirkey, in an official statement released by HI, said, "Finishing on the podium at a Senior Men's World Cup is not an easy task, and we hope this announcement will further increase the motivation levels of the already glory-hungry Indian Men's Hockey Team. Winning a medal in a home World Cup would surely go down as one of the best memories for the players in their decorated careers. We wish them the very best for the FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela."

Meanwhile, Hockey India's Secretary General Bholanath Singh said, "The Indian Men's Hockey Team is the pride of the nation and we want them to scale all the possible peaks in the sport. To help them achieve that, and to further motivate them towards this target, we have announced this prize for the team. Harmanpreet and Co are very able and talented players and we are sure they will do the best they can to finish with a medal."

Squad

Goalkeepers: Krishan Bahadur Pathak and Sreejesh Parattu Raveendran.

Defenders: Jarmanpreet Singh, Surender Kumar, Harmanpreet Singh (Captain), Varun Kumar, Amit Rohidas (Vice-captain), Nilam Sanjeep Xess

Midfielders: Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh,Nilakanta Sharma, Shamsher Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Akashdeep Singh.

Forwards: Mandeep Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Abhishek and Sukhjeet Singh.

Alternate Players: Rajkumar Pal and Jugraj Singh.

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