New Delhi, Sep 1 (IANS) The Indian hockey team stands the chance of bagging Rs.10 million if they win the World Cup starting in Germany Wednesday.

Announcing the incentive, in conjunction with ESPN-STAR Sports and Leisure Sports Management (LSM), the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) said here Friday that even if the team wins the silver or the bronze medal it would still be rewarded.

The 18-member team would receive Rs.5 million if it wins silver and Rs.2.5 million if it bags bronze.

"It's indeed a big day for Indian hockey. The rewards announced by the Premier Hockey League (PHL) will inspire the Indian team to give their best shot at the World Cup," IHF president K.P.S. Gill told reporters.

PHL is the innovative national league conceived by IHF, LSM and ESPN-STAR Sports. The incentive is expected to give a fillip to the Indian team trying to win the country's second World Cup ever.

The only time India, eight-time Olympics gold medallist, won the World Cup was in 1975 in Kuala Lumpur where Ajit Pal Singh was the captain.

Besides the cash awards, the PHL announced it would also bear the medical expenses of injured drag-flicker Sandeep Singh and sponsor a video analyst for the team for one year. The analyst has already joined the team in Germany.

Sandeep was shot when a railway police officer's revolver accidentally went off while he was travelling to New Delhi on the Chandigarh-Delhi Shatabdi Express Aug 22.

He was going to New Delhi to join the World Cup-bound Indian team that left for Germany that day. He was later operated upon, and was ruled out of the tournament.

R.C. Venkateish, managing director ESPN Software India Pvt. Ltd., said the incentive would help attract youngsters to the game.

"Supporting the Indian team is a critical part of our strategy. Success at international level will attract more and more youngsters to take up hockey as a lucrative career option," he said.

The sponsoring a video analyst was also lauded by national coach Vasudevan Baskaran, who is currently with the team in Germany.

"The video analyst is as much as a training tool as it is a strategy tool. We are confident that the team performance will improve with the addition of a video analyst," Baskaran said in a statement from Germany.