A product from the prestigious Australian Institute of Sport, Eddie Ockenden, 34, has lived up to early promise.
The effervescent midfielder/striker was part of the Australian team that finished with a silver medal at the 2005 Rotterdam Junior World Cup and quickly made his mark in the senior side with whom he has collected 340 caps during which he has scored nearly 70 goals.
From Hobart, Tasmania, Ockenden took to hockey at eight, encouraged by his mother who played the game. He took rapid strides with wielding the stick and soon climbed up the ranks.
The youngest member at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Ockenden picked up a bronze medal and was to do so again four years later in London.
In-betweens, Ockenden picked up a gold medal at the 2010 Delhi World Cup and duly featured in a World All-Star team.
Ockenden’s performances brought him the 2008 FIH Rising Star Award and the 2010 Kookaburras Player of the Year accolade as he continued to shine in the green-and-gold, helping them win gold medals an astounding seven times at the Champions Trophy (now defunct).
Ockenden played club hockey for Tassie Tigers in the Australian Hockey League and assisted a New Zealand club in Cantebury. He took a big step in joining Laren in The Netherlands in 2008 and had a stint with the Uttar Pradesh Wizards in the Hockey India League.
Ockenden has been named joint-captain with Aran Zalewski of the Kookaburras bound for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and his presence in the attack will go a long way in achieving a podium finish.