Belgian Tom Boon named best hockey player in the world
Belgian Tom Boon has been named Player of the Year by the International Hockey Federation (FIH). With Arthur Van Doren (2017 and 2018) and John-John Dohmen (2016), there were already two Belgians on the list of honours.
Tom Boon was one of three nominees for the Player of the Year title, alongside Argentine Nicolas Della Torre and Dutchman Thierry Brinkman. He succeeds Indian Harmanpreet Singh as winner.
The 35-year-old striker from Belgian club Léopold has already collected quite a few titles in his career. With the Red Lions, the national men's team, he won the World Cup (in 2018), the European Championship (in 2019) and the Olympic Games (in 2021). With his nose for goals, Boon played an important role each time. Now he is also being recognised individually for his scoring instinct.
The award evoked “a lot of emotions” in Boon, the player told Sporza. “Especially because it's so late in my career. Individually, this award is the best there is, like the Ballon d'Or in football. But I chose a team sport, so winning together is still the best thing.”
In the women's competition, Belgium's Alix Gerniers missed out on the prestigious award. The 32-year-old Gerniers had to leave the trophy to the Netherlands' Xan de Waard. Gerniers, captain of her club Gantoise and the national women's team Red Panthers, received her fourth Golden Stick as the best Belgian player at the end of August.
At last summer's European Championships in Mönchengladbach, Germany, the Belgian women finished fourth. The Belgian men did not make it to the semi-finals.
#FlandersNewsService | Belgian hockey player Tom Boon pictured in action © BELGA PHOTO ERIC LALMAND
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