Claire colwill

FIH Star Awards: Yibbi Jansen and Harmanpreet Singh were recently named Players of the Year at the FIH Star Awards 2024 in Muscat. Yibbi, the Dutch midfielder, was honoured as Player of the Year following her exceptional performance at the Paris 2024 Olympics, where she emerged as the leading goalscorer with nine goals in eight matches.

At just 24, Yibbi was recently acquired by the Odisha Warriors in the auction of the inaugural Women’s HIL for an impressive Rs 29 lakh, making her the second-most costliest player in the league. Known for her fierce drag flicks, she scored crucial goals during the Olympics, most notably the equaliser in the gold medal match with less than 10 minutes remaining, ultimately helping her team secure the top spot on the podium.

“I'm very happy and proud to be named the FIH Player of the Year for 2024 but in the end it's a team sport. We achieved our goal, and my biggest dream last summer was yeah winning the Olympic gold. And then winning the Player of the Year Award after such a good summer is very special. There goes a lot of work behind the scenes; I do a lot of strength training, hockey training and I put some extra time in my penalty corner. So yeah, it takes a lot of time, but it is something I love so it doesn't feel like work,” Yibbi commented on the achievement.