More often than not, a Belgian victory involves Tom Boon at the forefront.

Not without reason. The livewire forward and drag-flicker has played more than 300 internationals in a Red Lions shirt and his sharpness in front of goal has been the keynote of many a victory.

The 31-year-old comes from a renowned hockey family. His grandmother Jacqueline Ronsmans played for Belgium as did his mother Carine. Boon’s uncle is none other than Marc Coudron who holds the Belgian appearance record at 358 caps. Eric Coudron, another uncle, also played the game. And for good measure, his sister Jill wears the colours of the Red Panthers, the women’s national team.

Boon shared the disappointment of a rising Belgium team which had to rest content with a string of silver medals at the 2013 and 2017 EuroHockey Championships and the 2016 Rio Olympics.

That all ended with an epic triumph at the 2018 Bhubaneswar World Cup where Belgium beat The Netherlands in a pulsating tiebreaker in the final.

The monkey of their back, Belgium, added the 2019 Euro title to the cabinet and another, the 2020-21 FIH Pro League title, after establishing a runaway lead in the nine-nation event.

Boon plays for Royal Leopold Club and had rendered his services for top Dutch club Bloemendaal and Racing, in his early years. He went for a record $105,000 to Dabang Mumbai ahead of the 2015 Hockey India League.

In the squad to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Belgium will have high hopes on Boon’s prowess in the striking circle to turn silver into gold.