Belgium’s Hockey Captain and Olympic silver medalist John-John Dohmen was awarded the Best Male Player of the Year Award (2016) by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) at the gala FIH Hockey Stars Awards Ceremony on February 23, 2017 in Chandigarh.
- In the Women’s category, Netherlands’ Naomi van As won the International Hockey Federation’s (FIH) Best Female Player of the Year (2016) awards.
About John-John Dohmen
- John-John Dohmen is a Belgian international field hockey player and since 2013 he is the captain of the Belgian national team (the “Red Lions”).
- He has won five national titles, one with Léopold and four with Waterloo. He was named Belgian hockey player of the year for the season 2008-2009
About Naomi van As
- In 2008 Naomi van As became an Olympic Gold medal winner with her national team at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
- At the 2012 Summer Olympics, she was again part of the Dutch team that won gold. In 2009 also she was named FIH Player of the Year.
Other Awards
Best Male Goalkeeper of the Year: David Harte
- Ireland’s David Harte was conferred with the male Goalkeeper-of-the-Year award for the second time in the row.
- David helped Ireland qualify for the Olympics for the first time ever at Rio.
Best Female Goalkeeper of the Year: Maddie Hinch
- Britain’s Olympic gold medallist Maddie Hinch was adjudged the female Goalkeeper of the Year. In 2016 she played in her first Olympic games.
- She won the silver medal for England at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow
Rising Male Star of the Year: Arthur Van Doren
- Belgium’s Arthur Van Doren was named the male ‘Rising Star of the Year (aged 23 years and under).
- He became national hockey champion in 2011. In 2012, he was honoured with the Golden Stick (category junior male players) by the Belgian Hockey Association.
Rising Female Star of the Year: Maria Granatto
Argentina’s Maria Granatto was named the female Rising Star of the Year after a huge success period which saw her team win the 2016 Hockey Champions Trophy and where she won Best Junior Player.
Male Coach of the Year: Danny Kerry
- Great Britain’s Danny Kerry got the honour in the men’s section. In 2016 he was appointed Head Coach of the England and Great Britain Women’s Hockey teams on a permanent basis through to the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020.
- His team won the gold medal at the Field hockey at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Female Coach of the Year: Karen Brown
Coach Karen Brown who guided Great Britain’s women team to gold in Rio was the women’s Coach of the Year award. Brown won the award for the second consecutive year.
Male Umpire of the Year: Christian Blasch
- Germany’s Christian Blasch was the Umpire of the Year in the men’s category. Blasch has umpired a phenomenal amount of international matches, including three World Cups (2006, 2010 and 2014) and four Olympic Games (2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016).
- He umpired the semi-finals between Australia and Great Britain in 2012 and the final between Argentina and Belgium in 2016.
Female Umpire of the Year: Laurine Delforge
- Belgium’s Laurine Delforge was named the top umpire among women. Laurine started umpiring when she was about 17.
- Her first tournament was in 2009: U18s in Belgium. Her first senior international game was in January 2012, at a 3 Nations in South Africa.
FIH Hockey Star Award
Hockey Stars are the annual awards given to the best player, coach, goal-keepers, rising stars and umpire in a given calendar year.
- The 2016 Awards ceremony took place in the Crystal Ballroom at the 5-Star Lalit Hotel in Chandigarh, India.
- There were two Indians in the list with Sreejesh among nominees for the best goalkeeper while 20-year-old Harmanpreet Singh, who was part of the junior World Cup-winning squad, was a nominee in the ‘Rising Star of the Year’ category.
- However both could not make it for the award.
- The FIH, in partnership with Hockey India, organised the Hockey Stars Awards 2016 ceremony that celebrated the success of the winners, providing an opportunity to reflect on what was a truly remarkable year for the game.
