of All Time
Greatest Field Hockey Players
It is widely believed that field hockey was derived from Irish game of Hurling and its Scottish version Shinty which were very popular and recorded as early as 1272 B.C. The Mongolian people of China used to play a more sophisticated version of this game called Beikou for around 1,000 years. European invaders of Chile also recorded a similar version of this game called Chueca or The Twisted One, which was mainly played by the Araucano Indians around 16th century. The first account of the name of this game with modern methods was found in an 1853 book by Lord Lytton. He first mentioned the name of this game when he wrote “On the common some young men were playing at hockey. That old-fashioned game, now very uncommon in England, except at schools…” Field hockey then eventually came out of being just a school game and started to spread throughout the world. This major event of Olympic has always created adrenaline rush for the sports fans and also delivered amazing athletes. So here is the list of top 10 greatest field hockey players of all time.
TOP 10 GREATEST FIELD HOCKEY PLAYERS OF ALL TIME
1. DHYAN CHAND
Top 10 Greatest Field Hockey Players of All Time
Indian field hockey player Dhyan Chand is widely regarded as the greatest field hockey player of all time and also the best athlete in Olympic history. India was the most dominant team in Hockey during his career and won three Olympic gold medals consecutively from 1928 to 1936. He scored more than 1000 goals in his career from 1926 to 1948 and was nicknamed “The Wizard.” His magical stickwork drew audiences from other venues to the Olympic hockey field for which a German newspaper put him on the cover with a headline stated “The Olympic complex now has a magic show too.” As an interesting fact, Fuhrer was so impressed by Dhyan Chand’s skills that he offered him the post of Colonel in his Nazi army which Dhyan declined. Due to his unbelievable wizardry, the Netherland’s authorities once broke his stick before a match to check if there was a magnet inside the hockey stick. He died on 3 December 1979.
2. SOHAIL ABBAS
Top 10 Greatest Field Hockey Players of All Time
Pakistani field hockey player Sohail Abbas is considered a genius creation of Pakistan and also regarded as the best player of modern field hockey history. He is the highest scorer in modern field hockey. Sohail is the first person in history to reach the 300-goal mark. He is the fastest to score 100 goals and 200 goals barrier in international hockey history. Sohail is regarded as the greatest flicker for his 65% drag flick conversion rate. He also holds the record of most goals scored in a single calendar year for his 60 goals in 1999. Interestingly, he also came close to break his own record with his 59 goal in 2004. He is the only person in history to score 21 hat tricks and even a double hat-trick in international games. He is also the overall top scorer of Pakistan with his 16 goals in three world cup appearances.
3. RIC CHARLESWORTH
Top 10 Greatest Field Hockey Players of All Time
Former Australian field hockey player and Coach Ric Charlesworth received the Advance Australia Award in 1984 for his amazing contribution to field hockey. He was a pioneer member of Australian team and represented in five Olympics, out of which two times as the captain from 1972 to 1988. He also led his national team to victory of the World Hockey Cup in London in 1986. He was named Western Australian Sportsman of the Year a record three times. He also received the Western Australia Citizen of the Year Award 2001. Ric was inducted in the Australian Hockey Hall of Fame in 1987 and became the second player to achieve that honor. He was also inducted in the Hall of Champions in Western Australia in 1995. He was honored with Australian Sports Medal for his amazing career in 2000.
4. HASSAN SARDAR
Top 10 Greatest Field Hockey Players of All Time
Former Pakistani field hockey player Hassan Sardar is widely regarded as one of the best field hockey players and also the best player from Pakistan Hockey Federation. He won the gold medal and led his Pakistan men’s national team to victory of 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles as the captain. He participated in his first World Hockey Cup in Mumbai in 1982 and proved himself as the best center forward Pakistan has ever produced. He won the very first world cup he played in 1982 and was awarded the Man of the Tournament for scoring 11 goals. He was also marked for his major contribution to crush India with a score of 7-1 in 1982 Asian Games in New Delhi. He achieved a hat-trick on that occasion. He is currently the Chief Selector of the Pakistan field hockey team.
5. SHAHBAZ AHMED
Top 10 Greatest Field Hockey Players of All Time
Former Pakistani field hockey player Shahbaz Ahmed is widely considered as one of the the best forwards in the Field Hockey history. He was nicknamed The Maradona of Hockey for his amazing dribbling skills with the stick. He became a member of Pakistan National Hockey Team in 1986. He captained his team and led them to victory of Men’s Hockey World Cup victory in 1994. Besides Pakistan national team, he also played for German club Harvestehuder and Dutch club OranjeZwart after the Atlanta Games in 1996. Shahbaz participated in three Olympic Games and won the bronze medal in 1992 Olympic. He is the only player in the Field Hockey history to achieve player of the tournament awards consecutive two times in 1990 and 1994 World Cup.
6. TEUN DE NOOIJER
Top 10 Greatest Field Hockey Players of All Time
Dutch field hockey player Teun de Nooijer is widely considered as the best field hockey player of modern times. Besides his national team, he also currently plays for Dutch team HC Bloemendaal and Uttar Pradesh Wizards of Hockey India League. He completed a record 400 games as a pioneer forward of Dutch national team on 15 August 2009, with a victory against India with 5-3. He was a pioneer member of Dutch national team for Olympics from 1996 and won gold medals in 1996 Atlanta Olympic and 2000 Sydney Olympic. He also led his national team to the finals of 2004 Athens Olympic and 2012 London Olympic and won silver medals on both the occasions. He won the 1998 Hockey World Cup in Utrecht and was awarded bronze medals in 2002 and 2010 World Cup.
7. TIES KRUIZE
Top 10 Greatest Field Hockey Players of All Time
Former Dutch field hockey player Ties Kruize is widely regarded as the best penalty corner taker in the history of Field hockey. He won Gold medal in Amstelveen Hockey World Cup in 1973 and won Silver medal in 1978 Buenos Aires Hockey World Cup. He participated as a team member of Dutch national team in EuroHockey Nations Championship and won gold medal in 1983 Amsterdam and bronze medal in 1974 Madrid. He also showed his amazing skill with the hockey stick in Hockey Champions Trophy and won gold medal two consecutive times in 1981 Karachi and 1982 Amstelveen. Besides the national team, he was also a pioneer member of HC Klein Zwitserland club and won Dutch titles eight consecutive times from 1977 to 1984.
8. JAMIE DWYER
Top 10 Greatest Field Hockey Players of All Time
Australian field hockey player Jamie Dwyer is a pioneer member of Australian men’s field hockey team from 2001 till date. He scored more than 150 goals in his career of more than 250 matches. He led his national team to win the gold medal in 2004 Summer Olympics. He was also a major contributor to the national team which won bronze medals in 2008 Summer Olympics and 2012 Summer Olympics. Jamie also represented his team and won gold medal in 2006 Commonwealth Games and 2010 Commonwealth Games. He won the gold medal at the 2010 Men’s Hockey World Cup and won the silver medals in 2002 Men’s Field Hockey World Cup and the 2006 Men’s Field Hockey World Cup. He was named IHF World Player of the Year in 2004 and 2007.
9. DHANRAJ PILLAY
Top 10 Greatest Field Hockey Players of All Time
Former Indian field hockey player Dhanraj Pillay was the only player from India to be named in the World Eleven side for the 1994 World Cup at Sydney. He is the only player in field hockey history to participate in four Olympics from 1992 to 2004, four World Cups from 1990 to 2002, four Champions Trophies from 1995 to 2003 and four Asian Games from 1990 to 2002. He also served as the captain of Indian national team and won gold medals in 1998 Asian Games and 2003 Asia Cup. He scored more than 170 goals in 339 international matches and also became the highest goal scorer in the Bangkok Asian Games. He was honored with the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award in 2000 and Padma Shri, the leading Indian civilian award in 2000.
10. FERGUS KAVANAGH
Top 10 Greatest Field Hockey Players of All Time
Australian field hockey player Fergus Kavanagh is acclaimed by many as the best field hockey player of modern days. He is a regular member of Australia men’s national field hockey team and plays for Western Australia state team in the Australian Hockey League. While having him as a main player, Australia won 2010 Delhi Hockey World Cup and 2014 The Hague World Cup. Fergus also led his national team to win a gold medal in 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games and two Bronze medals in Olympics. He also represented Australia in the Azlan Shah Cup in 2011. While being the very best defender of field hockey, he also scored 14 goals in his 191 appearance for the national team. His very recent achievement was winning 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
While being the birthplace of many amazing talents, field hockey is also studded with various appreciable trivia. The British Empire first popularized it while spreading it throughout their ruling territory, which eventually became the sole reason for field hockey’s huge popularity in Australia, New Zealand and the major parts of sub-continents.
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