Lausanne: India forward Lalremsiami has been named as the 2019 FIH Women's Rising Star of the Year, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) said on Tuesday.
The 19-year-old attacker took the prize ahead of Argentina's Julieta Jankunas and Frederique Matla of the Netherlands, who finished second and third respectively, the FIH said in a statement.
The player from Mizoram got 40 per cent of all the votes cast. She got 47.7 per cent of her votes from among national associations, while the media, fans/players contributed 28.4 per cent and 36.4 per cent respectively.
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Here is our winner for the 2019 FIH Rising Star of the Year (Women) #HockeyStarsAwards pic.twitter.com/NMUSjPMwdV
— International Hockey Federation (@FIH_Hockey) February 10, 2020 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
">Here is our winner for the 2019 FIH Rising Star of the Year (Women) #HockeyStarsAwards pic.twitter.com/NMUSjPMwdV
— International Hockey Federation (@FIH_Hockey) February 10, 2020Here is our winner for the 2019 FIH Rising Star of the Year (Women) #HockeyStarsAwards pic.twitter.com/NMUSjPMwdV
— International Hockey Federation (@FIH_Hockey) February 10, 2020
In a video posted by FIH, India captain Rani Rampal was seen breaking the news to her young team-mate. Incidentally, Rani is the only other Indian player to be nominated ever for the award. She was in the race in 2010, 2013 and 2014.
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2019 FIH Rising Star of the year (Women) - Lalremsiami shares her thoughts after winning the award.@TheHockeyIndia #HockeyStarsAwards pic.twitter.com/ZzNH59u5Di
— International Hockey Federation (@FIH_Hockey) February 10, 2020 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
">2019 FIH Rising Star of the year (Women) - Lalremsiami shares her thoughts after winning the award.@TheHockeyIndia #HockeyStarsAwards pic.twitter.com/ZzNH59u5Di
— International Hockey Federation (@FIH_Hockey) February 10, 20202019 FIH Rising Star of the year (Women) - Lalremsiami shares her thoughts after winning the award.@TheHockeyIndia #HockeyStarsAwards pic.twitter.com/ZzNH59u5Di
— International Hockey Federation (@FIH_Hockey) February 10, 2020
"I didn't expect to win it, but I'm so happy now," Lalremsiami said in a video posted by FIH. "I am happy with my performance in 2019, and we qualified for the Olympics as well. I would like to dedicate this award to my team."
Since making her debut in 2017 in a test series against Belarus, Lalremsiami has made a name for herself as a striker of phenomenal ability. Twice in her short senior career, she has been top goalscorer - in a test series against Korea in 2017 and against Spain in 2019.
At the Ready Steady Tokyo event, which took place in August 2019, Lalremsiami scored the winning goal in the final against Japan. Over the course of that event, India drew with Australia, who were ranked at number two in the world, as well as drawing with Asian rivals China.
However, the two events that really made India and Lalremsiami's year - at either end of the emotional scale - were the competitions leading to qualification for the Tokyo Olympic Games.
Hockey India (HI) also congratulated Lalremsiami on winning the award.
Congratulating Lalremsiami, Mohd Mushtaque Ahmad, President of Hockey India said, "I congratulate Lalremsiami for winning the prestigious FIH Rising Star of the Year award. She is a youth icon for youngsters in Mizoram and she has done very well for the team since her debut. She has great potential and I wish her the very best in future tournaments."
