Kolkata: Vivek Sagar Prasad, the 21-year-old midfielder of Indian men’s hockey team which savoured a podium finish at the Tokyo Olympics, has emerged as one of the leading faces of new generation talent when he was again shortlisted for the FIH Rising Star of the Year Awards 2020-21.
A recipient of the Rising Star of the Year Award 2019-2020 of FIH, the world governing body, Vivek has been nominated among six players for the second year in running - something which he calls a surreal experience.
“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). 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,” said Vivek, who had been cris-crossing the country along with the rest of the team for felicitations.
“However, 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. 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,” he told Hockey India.
Asked about the feeling of becoming an Olympic medallist at the age of 21, Vivek said: “It hasn’t really sunk in yet. 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.
“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,” he concluded.
