New Delhi, Dec 28 (IANS): The Indian men's hockey team are eyeing a historic campaign at the FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup 2023 in January and in a bid to motivate them further, Hockey India on Wednesday announced cash prizes for the team and the support staff.

The national governing body for hockey will reward the members of the Indian team led by Harmanpreet Singh with INR 25 lakh each for a gold medal-winning feat at the prestigious quadrennial event while the members of the support staff will be honoured with INR 5 Lakh each. India last stood on the World Cup podium in 1975 where they lifted the coveted title beating Pakistan in the Final held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

A silver medal would see the players walk away with INR 15 Lakh while the support staff would be awarded INR 3 Lakh for their role in the campaign. And a bronze Medal feat by Harmanpreet and Co will see them being awarded with INR 10 Lakh each, while the support staff would be entitled to a prize of INR 2 Lakh.

The decision was made by the Hockey India Executive Board in a virtual meeting on December 24 as a way to further boost the morale of the Indian Team for the esteemed competition which will see 16 top teams of the world vie for honours.

"Finishing on the podium at a Senior Men's World Cup is not an easy task, and we hope this announcement will further increase the motivation levels of the already glory-hungry Indian Men's Hockey Team. Winning a medal in a home World Cup would surely go down as one of the best memories for the players in their decorated careers. We wish them the very best for the FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela," said Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey.

"The Indian Men's Hockey Team is the pride of the nation and we want them to scale all the possible peaks in the sport. To help them achieve that, and to further motivate them towards this target, we have announced this prize for the team. Harmanpreet and Co are very able and talented players and we are sure they will do the best they can to finish with a medal," said Hockey India's Secretary General Bholanath Singh.