'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
What’s the story?
Indian hockey midfielder Vivek Sagar Prasad hopes to continue his good performance and get an Olympic medal for his country at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
In case you did not know
The 19-year-old Itarsi born hockey sensation became India’s second youngest player to debut for India at the age of 17 years, 10 months and 22 days. Vivek was awarded with the FIH Rising Star Award in 2019, which he won by getting 34.5 % of the votes. With this, he also became the first Indian player to win this prestigious award.
Vivek has overcome many difficulties, one of the biggest being his injury while playing a practice match in 2016, which crippled him to the bed for four months. However, Vivek fought back his depression and focused on getting recovered completely. Once he was recovered, there was no looking back.
Heart of the matter
Vivek seeks inspiration from Manpreet Singh and dreams of winning a medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The FIH Rising Star of the Year Award has greatly boosted his morale and he is now focused in training hard for the Tokyo Olympics. He said,
"I play in the present without thinking about the buzz in the background."
Expectations are very high from this teenager who believes hard work and dedication can take you anywhere in life.
What’s next?
After defeating world champions Belgium 2-1 in the first game of the second tie of the men’s FIH pro league at Bhubaneshwar's Kalinga stadium, the team is confident of winning the series. So far they have won 2 matches out of 4.
Vivek is confident of adding an Olympic medal to India's Olympics 2020 medal tally alongside his teammates. He said,
"Just like any other athlete, I want to do well at the Tokyo Olympics and, with my team-mates, win an Olympic medal."
