The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has announced the names of 30 players for the FIH Best Player, FIH Best Goalkeeper and FIH Rising Star of the Year awards for women and men. Five players have been shortlisted for each of the six categories. Only one Pakistan player, Sufyan Khan, has been nominated, for the Rising Star of the Year. The strong defender is also fast emerging as a world-class penalty corner expert. The 20-year-old boy from Bannu debuted for Pakistan in 2022 at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup. He has been a regular since and figured in major tournaments including Asian Games, Junior World Cup and Olympic qualifiers. He gained prominence at this year’s Sultan Azlan Shah Cup. Sufyan, who played a stellar role in Pakistan gaining second position at the tournament, was named Player of the Tournament.
He was also his team’s joint top scorer with four goals. At the recent Asian Champions Trophy, he scored four goals including two in Pakistan’s victory over South Korea in the third position match. Sufyan is one in a long line of quality players nurtured at Dar Hockey Academy, Pakistan’s finest hockey nursery. In 2020, when he was only 16, Sufyan joined Dar Hockey Academy in Lahore, 500 km from Bannu. After two years, he was good enough to gain the national team selection.