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In the International Hockey Federation (FIH) Hockey Stars Awards 2020-2021 which were presented on October 06, 2021, Indian hockey players bagged awards in all the categories while Tokyo Olympics gold-medallist team Belgium finished runners-up on the list. Following India’s domination in award ceremony, Belgium team has expressed disappointment and termed it as a “failure of voting system”.
Belgium team won the gold medal in the recently-concluded Tokyo Olympics 2020 by beating Australia and was expecting some big rewards from the FIH for their players. The voting process started on August 23 and concluded on September 15. Votes from National Associations represented by their respective national captains and coaches counted for 50 per cent of the overall result followed by 25 per cent each for fans and players as well as the media.
Belgium Hockey ask for a fair system
Begium Hockey expressed their disappointment via a tweet saying, “Hockey Belgium is very disappointed with the outcome of @FIH_Hockey Star Awards. A gold winning team with multiple nominees in all categories but doesn’t win a single award demonstrates failure of the voting system. We will work with FIH to ensure a fairer system in the future.”
Indian lads shine on awards night
Indian athletes Gurjit Kaur (Best Player, Women), Harmanpreet Singh (Best Player, Men), Savita (Best Goalkeeper, Women), PR Sreejesh (Best Goalkeeper, Men), Sharmila Devi (Best Rising Star, Women) and Vivek Prasad (Best Rising Star, Men) as well as the coaches of India’s women’s team, Sjoerd Marijne (NED) and India’s men’s team, Graham Reid (AUS) grabbed the highest number of votes in their respective categories.
India finished on podium after decades
It took India more than three decades to have a podium finish. India were able to win a medal in Olympics after a long drought of 41 years. India defeated Germany and secured the third spot in the Olympics, thus clinching first bronze medal after 1980.
