Sahara to give 1.12 crore to triumphant Indian hockey team

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Monetary rewards continued to trickle down for the Indian men's hockey team as Sahara India Pariwar on Tuesday announced a cash incentive of Rs 1.12 crore for the players and support staffs of the side, that emerged winners in the just-concluded London Olympic qualifiers.

India trounced France 8-1 in the final on Sunday to seal a place in the upcoming London Olympics after having missed the Beijing Games four years ago.

And it prompted Sahara, the official sponsor of the national game, to reward the players and team officials for their feat.

While mid-fielder Sardar Singh, who won the player of the tournament award, and ace drag flicker Sandeep Singh, who scored five goals including a hat-trick in the final, will be given a sum of Rs 11 lakh each, the rest of the team members will receive an amount of Rs 5 lakh each, Sahara said in a statement.

The support staff will also get an incentive of Rs 1 lakh each, the release stated.

"We are very proud that India performed so well in this tournament. Hockey is our national game and we are proud of being associated with it," said Managing Worker and Chairman of Sahara India Pariwar, Subrata Roy.

"This reward is a small token of appreciation from us to encourage the sportsmen and the support staff to achieve greater success and bring laurels to our beloved nation through our national sport," he added.

Earlier, the state governments of Madhya Pradesh and Haryana, apart from Hockey India and the Lalit group of hotels, had announced a huge cash awards for the victotious team.

Sahara had recently renewed its sponsorship deal with Hockey India for a period of five years at a 170 per cent increase over the past contract period.