AGE: 28 COUNTRY: The Netherlands EVENT: Men's field hockey THE DRAMA: The Dutch will want to avenge a narrow defeat by Germany in June THE COMPETITION: The Germans showed they can beat the Dutch; Australia is a rising power
Posted Sunday, August 8, 2004; 11.13BST
The Dutch men's field hockey team is going for a hat trick this year, having claimed gold in both Atlanta and Sydney. Their success depends largely on striker Teun de Nooijer, 28, whose graceful dribbling and prolific goal-scoring make him the most dangerous man of an impressive squad and earned him the title of 2003 men's player of the year from the International Hockey Federation.
The star of a team that won both the 2003 Champions' Trophy and the Olympic qualifiers in March, De Nooijer, who grew up playing street hockey in Egmond aan den Hoef, about 40 km from Amsterdam, hews to an almost preternatural modesty. "I guess I'm in shape," he allows. "My technique is good. My confidence is O.K."
The Dutch squad will need to be in top form since Australia, Germany, Pakistan, Spain and South Korea all have a shot this year. The fast-improving Aussies want to win gold for the first time, while Germany squeaked out a victory over the Netherlands in a warm-up tournament last month. "They have all caught up," says De Nooijer. So he'll have to dig deep and find his peak form to help the Dutch stay one golden step ahead.
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