Sahara's bonanza for men's hockey team

LUCKNOW: Indian hockey sponsors, Sahara India, has declared a bonus of Rs 1.5 lakh to each member of the Afro-Asian gold medal winning squad. This cash award is a major step to encourage the players to give their best.
The sponsors have decided to hand bonus to the national team if it wins any continental title. For the gold medal in the World Cup or Olympic Games, the players will earn Rs 3 lakh as bonus apart from Rs 25,000 which the national team players are getting monthly.
In Hyderabad, the Indians defeated arch-rivals Pakistan 3-1 in the final to cap their recent dominance over the neighbours. India had defeated the Pakistani team 4-2 in the league match on way to qualifying for the semi-finals.
This is the first time since 1991 that India defeated Pakistan twice in the same tournament. About 12 years ago in Kuala Lumpur, India had downed Pakistan on two occasions, including the final, winning the Sultan Azlan Shah tournament.
This AAG gold medal is the fourth title that the Indians have won in about five months'' time. They were the champions in the four-team tournament in Australia, followed by the title in Hamburg and the Asia Cup crown in Kuala Lumpur.
The AAG final is the eighth and last meeting between the two teams before they go to Madrid to play the pre-Olympic qualifying tournament next year. In the current year, India have beaten Pakistan five times and lost only twice, with one match ending in a 4-4 draw.