Skillful and enterprising, Santi Freixa caught the eye as an exciting forward in the early years of the millennium.
The Spaniard, born on Februay 13, 1983, was conferred the 2003 FIH Rising Stars award.
Freixa won a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and a bronze medal at the 2006 Moenchengladbach World Cup.
He endured bad luck with injuries during his international career which began in 2000 and ended in 2014. He quit all hockey in 2015 and began a career in coaching culminating in guiding the Amsterdam HC men’s team – a club he himself played for.
Freixa has also been active in community development and Indian fans will remember an academy run by Rural Development Trust in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh.
Freixa and fellow Spanish international Andreu Enrich promoted the academy by setting up an NGO called Stick for India.
PHOTO: K.Arumugam