Winning both the 2017 FIH Player of the Year and Rising Star award says something about the prodigious talent and capability of Arthur van Doren.
The dual honour came a year after he was voted Rising Star. The awards only reiterated his control and influence in the Red Lions march towards their first ever World Cup title at Bhubaneswar 2018 and the silver medal two years earlier at the Rio Olympics.
Van Doren collected a maiden EuroHockey Championship gold medal at Antwerp 2019 as Belgium continued scripting history.
Born on October 1, 1994, Van Doren, older brother of Belgium teammate and goalkeeper Loic, has collected 178 caps. His sublime defence and nifty skills often change defence to attack in a trice.
He spent his early days with KHC Dragons before joining HC Blemendaal in the Netherlands and helped the club win the Dutch title in the 2018-19 season.
Van Doren also had a stint with the Uttar Pradesh Wizards in the Hockey India League.