Agong awarded honorary member of FIH

KUALA LUMPUR: The Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah has been named as the Honorary Member of FIH (International Hockey Federation) at the #HockeyInvites virtual conference on Friday.

In a news article on FIH's website, Al Sultan-Abdullah was recognised due to His Majesty's tireless efforts to promote and develop hockey.

"His Majesty Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah, who is the current Royal Patron of the Asian Hockey Federation, has initiated the regeneration of hockey in Asia and vowed to recreate its status as an extravaganza and symbolic sport on the Asian and global platform," it said.

Apart from His Majesty, numerous hockey national associations and other individuals were also recognised in the awards.

Uzbekistan Hockey Federation, was awarded Pablo Negre Award due to their tremendous efforts to improve playing conditions through new infrastructure and the implementation of youth development models as the country strives to become a major hockey hub of Central Asia.

Another national association honoured was the Polish Hockey Association, who picked up the Theo Ikema Award, thanks to various hockey development projects resulting in 30 newly trained coaches and over 3,000 schoolchildren being introduced to the sport within the country.

As for the individuals, inspirational England and Great Britain striker Sam Ward - who suffered a career threatening eye injury in 2019 - was revealed as the recipient of the Super Fair Play Trophy Rene G Frank.

"It comes in recognition of his perseverance, dedication, and energy not only in his own recovery but also raising awareness of mental health issues and even volunteering his time to deliver food and medicines to his local community and supporting a young leukaemia patient, Alfie," it added.

Sharon Williamson of New Zealand was named as the winner of the HRH Sultan Azlan Shah Award for dedicating thousands of voluntary hours toward the delivery of New Zealand's brand-new National Hockey Centre in Auckland.

The event took place on the opening day of the 47th Congress on Friday with the congress session itself taking place today.

Hundreds of delegates from all over the world will connect in the first ever online congress, where key strategic decisions are made for the development and governance of hockey globally.

-- BERNAMA