"Humbled and honoured," says Harmanpreet Singh after winning the FIH Player of the year award for successive years

Indian hockey team defender and vice-captain Harmanpreet Singh won the FIH Player of the Year award for the second year in a row on Friday.

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"I am truly very humbled and honoured to have won the FIH Player of the Year Award 2021-22. This is a big moment for my career and I am really happy."

The 26-year-old defender won this reward for his goal-scoring ability, which has gone up a level last year, as many teams found it impossible to tackle his drag-flicks in penalty-corners. His scoring record in Pro League 2021- 22 includes an incredible 18 goals with two hat-tricks from 16 matches. With those 18 goals, he finished the season as the top scorer for India which now holds the record for most goals scored by a player in a Pro League season.

Harmanpreet was also in fine form in the Asian Champions Trophy Dhaka 2021. He scored eight goals in six matches, scoring a goal each, as India finished on the podium. His performance was also important for the Indian team as India won the silver medal at the Commonwealth Games 2022.

Harmanpreet has now become the fourth player to win the Player of the Year award (men's category) in consecutive years. "However, I must say that this award is not mine alone, even though it is an individual award, because without the help and support of my teammates, this would not have been possible in anyway at all. He added.

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The total marks of Harmanpreet Singh was 29.4 marks. He was followed by Thierry Brinkman with 23.6 points and Tom Boon third with 23.4 points. Netherlands' Felice Albers won FIH Player of the Year 2021/22 award in the women's category.

In addition, Indian men's and women's hockey coaches Graham Reid and Janneke Schopman won the Coach of the Year awards for 2021/22.