LAUSANNE, SEP 18 (PTI): Indian women’s hockey team goalkeeper Bichu Devi Karibam and Pakistan striker Abdul Rehman won the Poligras Magic Skill Awards following their excellent performances at the just-concluded FIH World Cup in the Netherlands and Belgium.
The awards, which were decided on the votes of fans, who picked the moments that really captured the magic of hockey, presented by FIH Global Supplier Polytan.
The shortlist for the Poligras Magic Skill Award featured six wonderful flashes of brilliance — three women and three men — that graced the turf in hockey’s premier global showdown.
Eventually, the award for the women’s competition went to Bichu Devi for her stunning reflex save in the final minute of the game against England that ensured India’s qualification from the pool stage on the way towards a fifth place finish. It was Indian women team’s best finish in 52 years. The Indian goalkeeper received 52 per cent of all the votes, well clear of the other two nominees.
Meanwhile, the men’s section award went to Abdul Rehman for his mind-blowing 3D skills that saw him skip past four defenders, before adding a smart finish to score for Pakistan against Wales. Rehman’s goal recieved 44 per cent of votes, narrowly edging ahead of South African Kenton Melville’s audacious goal, which received 39 per cent of all votes.
