ISLAMABAD, Dec 7: Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan Junior has made the cut to get his name included in the final list of International Hockey Federation (FIH) Young Player of the Year award.

The FIH will announce its men’s 2012 Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year on Saturday, at the Champions Trophy in Melbourne.

After receiving input from the teams participating at the Champions Trophy and Champions Challenge in Argentina, the potential field of candidates has been trimmed down to five per category.

Rizwan’s recent performance has enabled him to get included in the list of Young Player of the Year.

A midfield player, Rizwan was born on Nov 25, 1994 and was part of Pakistan squad for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

It was a packed international calendar for the top men’s teams with the Olympic preparation events, the London 2012 Games and naturally the Champions Trophy here in Melbourne.

For the first time, the Young Player of the Year is open to players under the age of 21, instead of the previous U-23 cut-off.

The women’s Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year will be announced in early 2013.

The Coach of the Year for both men and women will also be announced at that time.

Following is the list of players:Player of the Year: Jamie Dwyer (Australia), Moritz Fuerste (Germany), Tobias Hauke (Germany), Robert van der Horst (Netherlands), Sardar Singh (India).

Young Player of the Year: Florian Fuchs (Germany), Simon Gougnard (Belgium), Harry Martin (England), Gonzalo Peillat (Argentina), Mohammad Rizwan Junior (Pakistan).—APP