Grant Schubert (AUS) with NED players Mijntje Donners, Teun de Nooijer and Maartje Scheepstra with their FIH Player of the Year awards.

Orange dominates in Sydney

The Netherlands’ trademark orange was draped over the WorldHockey Player of the Year awards with three Dutch players dominating the honours at the presentations in Sydney 5 December 2003. 

Dutch forward Teun de Nooijer today returned to Sydney – scene of his epic performances in The Netherlands’ march to Olympic gold in 2000 – to claim the WorldHockey senior men’s Player of the Year award for the first time and stand alongside compatriots Mijntje Donners and Maartje Scheepstra who gave the Dutch a clean sweep of the women’s awards. 

A sprig of local wattle was mixed in today’s presentations with Australian forward Grant Schubert breaking up the Dutch domination by claiming the young men’s Player of the Year title. 

Netherlands captain Donners, one of the most passionate and effective players in women’s hockey, is the first Dutch player to win the senior women’ award which dates back to 1998. 

De Nooijer joins former Dutch captain Stephan Veen, the inaugural winner in 1998 and 2000, as the second Netherlands player to win the coveted men’s award. 

Scheepstra, a cool-headed defender, and Schubert, a prolific goalscorer who has added new bite to the Australian attack, emphasise the exciting new talent emerging on the international hockey circuit.

International Hockey Federation secretary-general Peter Cohen hailed the four winners as magnificent role models in world hockey. 

“Our game is blessed with outstanding players who represent themselves, their countries and their sport with distinction and we are proud to acknowledge these four champions of the year and thank them for their part in making world hockey a better game for their presence and skills,” Mr Cohen said. 

“All four winners came from impressive fields of nominations and we congratulate not only the four Players of the Year but all those who were considered for the awards. They have all made for a wonderful year of world hockey.”

Nominations
WorldHockey Men’s Player of the Year
1. Sohail Abbas PAK
2. Waseem Ahmad PAK
3. Pablo Amat ESP
4. Chauhan Devesh IND
5. Troy Elder AUS
6. Brent Livermore AUS
7. Jorge Lombi ARG
8. Teun de Nooijer NED
9. Xavier Ribas ESP
10. Dilip Tirkey IND

WorldHockey Young Men’s Player of the Year
1. Floris Evers NED
2. Alex Fabregas ESP
3. Till Kriwet GER
4. Matias Paredes ARG
5. Grant Schubert AUS
6. Gagan Ajit Singh IND
7. Jugraj Singh IND
8. Prabjot Singh IND
9. Taeke Taekema NED
10. Eduard Tubau ESP 

WorldHockey Women’s Player of the Year
1. Katie Allen (AUS)
2. Luciana Aymar (ARG)
3. Fu Baorong (KOR)
4. Minke Booij (NED)
5. Nuria Camón (Spain)
6. Mijntje Donners (NED)
7. Sachimi Iwao (JPN)
8. Julie Towers (AUS)
9. Nie Yali (CHN)

WorldHockey Young Women’s Player of the Year
1. Soledad Garcia (ARG)
2. Miek van Geenhuizen (NED)
3. Fanny Rinne (GER)
4. Maartje Scheepstra (NED)
5. Lee Seon Ok (KOR)
6. Angie Skirving (AUS)
7. Kate Walsh (ENG)
8. Ma Yibo (CHN)