Akashdeep Singh the Indian menÂs hockey team forward has been selected for the prestigious Arjuna Award. The player feels extremely honored by the news.

He states ÂI am extremely delighted and honored to be conferred with the Arjuna Award. I would like to thank Hockey India for their immense support and guidance during my career. Hockey India, sports authority of India, and MYAS has provided the best facilities to the players which have helped us perform at our best in every match.Â

He also added, ÂI have been very fortunate to be playing for my country since December 2012 and I am very grateful for playing alongside a fantastic bunch of players. I would not have been able to contribute to the Indian teamÂs victories if I had not received the wonderful support from all of my teammates. I would like to thank my family for their support as well. They were absolutely ecstatic when they heard about the Arjuna AwardÂ.

Moving on to his achievements in the last four years he has played around 194 matches on national level. Also, he has been the part of Asian Games 2018, has won FIHÂS MenÂs Series Finals 2019.

Akashdeep also adds up by saying ÂLast year was a very crucial one for us. It was absolutely amazing to be the winning team at the FIH MenÂs Series Finals and then we followed that up with victories over Russia at the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers. The atmosphere in the stadium on the day we qualified for the Tokyo Olympics was electrifying. All athletes play their respective sports for these moments and I hope I experience more such moments in the rest of my career.Â

This will be a sort of payback to the player as Hockey despite being National Game of India isn’t given as much inclination regarding the Cricket.