15 Best and Most Famous Field Hockey Players of All Time

Our ranking of the 15 best field hockey players of all time, led by Dhyan Chand, Luciana Aymar and Balbir Singh Sr., with Olympic and World Cup titles.

Field hockey has been an Olympic sport for men since 1908 and for women since 1980. India won seven of the eight Olympic tournaments from 1928 to 1964, Pakistan dominated the 1970s and 1980s, and the Netherlands, Australia and Argentina have led the game since the move to artificial turf. This list mixes men and women from all of those eras. Each profile lists position, country, birth date and the titles that matter, followed by what made the player stand out. Below the ranking you will find the best player from each of the great hockey nations, the records these players set and the names that just missed the cut.

How We Ranked the Field Hockey Players

Major titles: Olympic gold counts most, followed by World Cup and Champions Trophy titles.
Individual honours: FIH Player of the Year awards and tournament awards show who was the best player of a given season.
Goals and impact: goals scored, and goals in finals, for forwards and penalty corner specialists; control of the game for midfielders.
Longevity: how many caps a player won and how long they stayed at the top.

The FIH Player of the Year award only began in 1998, and the game changed from grass to artificial turf in the 1970s, so we judged older players by their Olympic record and their standing among their own generation. The order is our own judgment, not an official one.

The 15 Best Field Hockey Players at a Glance

#	Player	Position	Career
1	Dhyan Chand	Centre-forward	1928 to 1936
2	Luciana Aymar	Midfielder	1998 to 2014
3	Balbir Singh Sr.	Centre-forward	1948 to 1956
4	Teun de Nooijer	Midfielder	1994 to 2012
5	Jamie Dwyer	Midfielder and forward	2001 to 2016
6	Sohail Abbas	Defender and drag-flicker	1998 to 2012
7	Alyson Annan	Forward	1991 to 2000
8	Ric Charlesworth	Inside forward	1972 to 1988
9	Hassan Sardar	Centre-forward	1979 to 1987
10	Maartje Paumen	Defender, midfielder and drag-flicker	2006 to 2016
11	Shahbaz Ahmed	Forward	1986 to 2002
12	Rechelle Hawkes	Midfielder	1985 to 2000
13	Stephan Veen	Forward and midfielder	1990 to 2000
14	Paul Litjens	Penalty corner specialist	1970 to 1982
15	Naomi van As	Midfielder and forward	2003 to 2016

#1 Dhyan Chand

🏑 Position: Centre-forward
🎂 Born: August 29, 1905, in Allahabad, India (died December 3, 1979)
🌍 Country: India
🏆 Career Highlights: 3 Olympic gold medals (1928, 1932, 1936), top scorer at the 1928 Olympics (14 goals), 37 goals in 12 Olympic matches, Padma Bhushan (1956)

Dhyan Chand won Olympic gold with India in Amsterdam 1928, Los Angeles 1932 and Berlin 1936. He was the top scorer in 1928 with 14 goals, scored eight in the 24 to 1 win over the United States in 1932 (his brother Roop Singh scored ten) and three in the 1936 final against Germany. In all he scored 37 goals in 12 Olympic matches.

His ball control was so close that he became the subject of stories about magnets in his stick. India celebrates its National Sports Day on his birthday, August 29, and in 2021 the country’s highest sporting honour was renamed the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna. He died in New Delhi in 1979.

#2 Luciana Aymar

🏑 Position: Midfielder
🎂 Born: August 10, 1977, in Rosario, Argentina
🌍 Country: Argentina
🏆 Career Highlights: 8× FIH Player of the Year (2001, 2004, 2005, 2007 to 2010, 2013), 2 World Cups (2002, 2010), 6 Champions Trophies, 4 Olympic medals (silver 2000, 2012, bronze 2004, 2008), 376 caps, 162 goals

Aymar is the only player, man or woman, to be named FIH Player of the Year eight times, between 2001 and 2013. She won the World Cup with Argentina in 2002 and 2010 and six Champions Trophies, and took a medal at four straight Olympics: silver in 2000 and 2012, bronze in 2004 and 2008.

She made her senior debut in 1998, finishing fourth at that year’s World Cup, and played 376 matches for Argentina with 162 goals before retiring in 2014. Known as “La Maga”, she was a dribbling midfielder who ran Argentina’s attack for 16 years. She carried Argentina’s flag at the opening ceremony of London 2012.

#3 Balbir Singh Sr.

🏑 Position: Centre-forward
🎂 Born: October 10, 1924, in Haripur Khalsa, India (died May 25, 2020)
🌍 Country: India
🏆 Career Highlights: 3 Olympic gold medals (1948, 1952, 1956 as captain), 5 goals in the 1952 Olympic final, 23 goals in 8 Olympic matches, manager of India’s 1975 World Cup winning team, Padma Shri (1957)

Balbir Singh won Olympic gold with India in London 1948, Helsinki 1952 and Melbourne 1956, the last as captain. In the 1952 final he scored five goals in a 6 to 1 win over the Netherlands, still the record for an Olympic hockey final. He scored 23 goals in eight Olympic matches.

In Melbourne he scored five goals against Afghanistan in the opening match, was injured, and came back for the semi-final and the 1 to 0 final against Pakistan. He later managed India to its only World Cup title in 1975, and in 1957 he became the first sportsperson to receive the Padma Shri. He died in Mohali in 2020 at 95.

#4 Teun de Nooijer

🏑 Position: Midfielder
🎂 Born: March 22, 1976, in Egmond aan den Hoef, Netherlands
🌍 Country: Netherlands
🏆 Career Highlights: 2 Olympic gold medals (1996, 2000), 2 Olympic silver medals (2004, 2012), World Cup (1998), 6 Champions Trophies, 3× FIH Player of the Year (2003, 2005, 2006), more than 400 caps

De Nooijer won Olympic gold with the Netherlands in Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000 and silver in 2004 and 2012. In the 1998 World Cup final in Utrecht he scored the golden goal against Spain that won the title. He also won six Champions Trophies.

He was named FIH Player of the Year in 2003, 2005 and 2006, and his career with the national team ran from his debut in June 1994 to London 2012, with his 400th cap coming in 2009. At club level he joined Bloemendaal at 17 and played there for most of his career.

#5 Jamie Dwyer

🏑 Position: Midfielder and forward
🎂 Born: March 12, 1979, in Rockhampton, Australia
🌍 Country: Australia
🏆 Career Highlights: Olympic gold (2004), 2 Olympic bronze medals (2008, 2012), 2 World Cups (2010, 2014), 3 Commonwealth Games golds, 6 Champions Trophies, 5× FIH Player of the Year, 365 caps, 243 goals

Dwyer scored the extra-time winner in the 2004 Olympic final, a 2 to 1 win over the Netherlands that gave Australia its first men’s hockey gold. He added bronze in 2008 and 2012, won the World Cup in 2010 and 2014 and Commonwealth Games gold in 2002, 2006 and 2010.

He was named FIH Player of the Year five times between 2004 and 2011, including three years in a row from 2009 to 2011, the most by any man. Between 2001 and 2016 he played 365 matches for Australia and scored 243 goals. He also won six Champions Trophies with the Kookaburras.

#6 Sohail Abbas

🏑 Position: Defender and drag-flicker
🎂 Born: June 9, 1977, in Karachi, Pakistan
🌍 Country: Pakistan
🏆 Career Highlights: 348 international goals in 315 caps, 21 international hat-tricks, 60 goals in 1999 (calendar year record), joint top scorer at the 2002 World Cup, Asian Games gold (2010)

Sohail Abbas is the most prolific goalscorer of the artificial turf era, with 348 goals in 315 matches for Pakistan. Most came from penalty corners, where his drag-flick set the standard for the modern game. In October 2004, at the Champions Trophy in Amritsar, he broke Paul Litjens’ international scoring record, which had stood for 22 years.

He scored 60 international goals in 1999, breaking Litjens’ calendar-year record of 58, and was joint top scorer at the 2002 World Cup. He played at the 2000, 2004 and 2012 Olympics and won Asian Games gold in 2010. He retired once in 2004, returned in 2006 and played on until 2012.

#7 Alyson Annan

🏑 Position: Forward
🎂 Born: June 1973, in Wentworthville, Australia
🌍 Country: Australia
🏆 Career Highlights: 2 Olympic gold medals (1996, 2000), 2 World Cups (1994, 1998), 2× world player of the year, 166 goals in 228 caps (Australian women’s record)
🏛️ Hall of Fame: Sport Australia Hall of Fame (2013)

Annan was the leading forward of the Australian team that dominated the 1990s, winning Olympic gold in Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000 and the World Cup in 1994 and 1998. She was twice named world player of the year and was top scorer at the 1998 World Cup with eight goals. Her 166 goals in 228 matches are the most by any player for the Hockeyroos.

As a coach she took the Netherlands women to silver at Rio 2016 and gold at Tokyo 2020, so she has won Olympic hockey gold both as a player and as a head coach. In 2022 she took over as head coach of China. She entered the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2013.

#8 Ric Charlesworth

🏑 Position: Inside forward
🎂 Born: February 6, 1952, in Subiaco, Australia
🌍 Country: Australia
🏆 Career Highlights: Olympic silver (1976), World Cup (1986), 227 caps, 85 goals, 5 Olympic selections (captain 1980 and 1984), coach of Australia’s Olympic women’s champions of 1996 and 2000
🏛️ Hall of Fame: Sport Australia Hall of Fame (1987)

Charlesworth played 227 matches for Australia between 1972 and 1988 and scored 85 goals. He won Olympic silver in Montreal 1976 and the World Cup in 1986, and was selected for five Olympic teams, captaining the side in 1980 (when Australia boycotted Moscow) and 1984. Alongside hockey he played 47 first-class cricket matches for Western Australia.

He was the Labor member of parliament for Perth from 1983 to 1993. As coach of the Hockeyroos from 1993 to 2000 he won Olympic gold in 1996 and 2000, and from 2009 to 2014 he coached the men’s team. Few people in any sport have matched his record as both player and coach.

#9 Hassan Sardar

🏑 Position: Centre-forward
🎂 Born: October 22, 1957, in Karachi, Pakistan
🌍 Country: Pakistan
🏆 Career Highlights: Olympic gold (1984), World Cup (1982, Man of the Tournament), Asian Games gold (1982), 150 goals in 148 caps, 10 goals at the 1984 Olympics

Hassan Sardar led Pakistan’s attack at its peak. At the 1982 World Cup in Bombay he was named Man of the Tournament as Pakistan won the title, and at the Asian Games in New Delhi later that year he scored a hat-trick in the 7 to 1 final win over India. Two years later he won Olympic gold in Los Angeles with ten goals.

Between 1979 and 1987 he scored 150 goals in 148 matches for Pakistan, about one per game, which puts him second on the national list behind Sohail Abbas. He later managed the national team and served as chief selector. Pakistan awarded him the Pride of Performance in 1984.

#10 Maartje Paumen

🏑 Position: Defender, midfielder and drag-flicker
🎂 Born: September 19, 1985, in Geleen, Netherlands
🌍 Country: Netherlands
🏆 Career Highlights: 2 Olympic gold medals (2008, 2012), Olympic silver (2016), 2 World Cups (2006, 2014), 2× FIH Player of the Year (2011, 2012), 195 goals in 235 caps

Paumen won Olympic gold with the Netherlands in Beijing 2008 and London 2012 and silver in Rio 2016, and the World Cup in 2006 and 2014. Her penalty in the 2012 final was her 14th Olympic goal and made her the top scorer in the history of the women’s Olympic tournament at the time.

She was top scorer at the 2010 and 2014 World Cups and was named FIH Player of the Year in 2011 and 2012. Her 195 goals in 235 matches are the Dutch women’s national team record. Most of them came from drag-flicks at penalty corners.

#11 Shahbaz Ahmed

🏑 Position: Forward
🎂 Born: September 1, 1968, in Faisalabad, Pakistan
🌍 Country: Pakistan
🏆 Career Highlights: World Cup (1994, captain), Player of the Tournament at the 1990 and 1994 World Cups, Olympic bronze (1992), Champions Trophy (1994), 304 caps (Pakistan record)

Shahbaz Ahmed was named Player of the Tournament at both the 1990 and the 1994 World Cups, and in 1994 he captained Pakistan to the title in Sydney. That year he also played a leading part in Pakistan’s Champions Trophy win in Lahore. He won Olympic bronze in Barcelona 1992 and played at three Olympics.

Fast and a fine dribbler, he was called “the Maradona of Hockey”, and he was a creator more than a scorer. His 304 matches are the most by any Pakistan player. He retired and came back more than once before leaving the game for good in 2002, and in 2015 he became secretary general of the Pakistan Hockey Federation.

#12 Rechelle Hawkes

🏑 Position: Midfielder
🎂 Born: May 30, 1967, in Albany, Australia
🌍 Country: Australia
🏆 Career Highlights: 3 Olympic gold medals (1988, 1996, 2000), 2 World Cups (1994, 1998), 5 Champions Trophies, Commonwealth Games gold (1998), 279 caps, 54 goals
🏛️ Hall of Fame: Sport Australia Hall of Fame (2002)

Hawkes is the only player who was part of all three of Australia’s Olympic gold medal teams, in Seoul 1988, Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000. She also won the World Cup in 1994 and 1998, five Champions Trophies between 1991 and 1999 and Commonwealth Games gold in 1998.

A midfielder, she captained the Hockeyroos for about eight years and read the athletes’ oath at the opening ceremony of the Sydney Olympics. She retired after the 2000 final with 279 matches for Australia, an Australian record at the time, and 54 goals. She entered the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2002.

#13 Stephan Veen

🏑 Position: Forward and midfielder
🎂 Born: July 27, 1970, in Groningen, Netherlands
🌍 Country: Netherlands
🏆 Career Highlights: 2 Olympic gold medals (1996, 2000), 2 World Cups (1990, 1998), Champions Trophy (2000), 2× FIH Player of the Year (1998, 2000)

Veen won the World Cup with the Netherlands in 1990 and, as captain, in 1998, and Olympic gold in Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000. He also captained the team to the 2000 Champions Trophy title in Amstelveen. He scored seven goals in seven matches at the Sydney Olympics.

He was named FIH Player of the Year in 1998, the year the award began, and again in 2000. His son Lucas made his debut for the Dutch national team in 2024, the third generation of the family to play for the Netherlands after Stephan and his father Sietze.

#14 Paul Litjens

🏑 Position: Penalty corner specialist
🎂 Born: November 9, 1947, in Loon op Zand, Netherlands (died December 13, 2023)
🌍 Country: Netherlands
🏆 Career Highlights: World Cup (1973), top scorer at the 1976 Olympics and the 1981 Champions Trophy, 177 caps, international scoring record from 1982 to 2004

Litjens was the great penalty corner specialist of the 1970s. He won the 1973 World Cup with the Netherlands, scoring in the penalty shoot-out against India in the final, and was top scorer at the Montreal Olympics in 1976 and at the 1981 Champions Trophy. In a 1979 friendly against the United States he scored eight goals.

He played 177 matches for the Netherlands between 1970 and 1982 and scored more than 260 goals, an international record that stood until Sohail Abbas passed it in 2004. He also set the calendar-year record of 58 goals. At club level he played for Kampong in Utrecht and won the Dutch title four times. He died in 2023 at 76.

#15 Naomi van As

🏑 Position: Midfielder and forward
🎂 Born: July 26, 1983, in The Hague, Netherlands
🌍 Country: Netherlands
🏆 Career Highlights: 2 Olympic gold medals (2008, 2012), Olympic silver (2016), 2 World Cups (2006, 2014), 2× FIH Player of the Year (2009, 2016), 3 European titles, 168 caps

Van As won Olympic gold with the Netherlands in Beijing 2008, where she scored the first goal of the 2 to 0 final against China, and again in London 2012. In Rio 2016 the Dutch lost the final to Great Britain in a shoot-out. She also won the World Cup in 2006 and 2014.

She was named FIH Player of the Year in 2009 and in 2016, seven years apart. A creative midfielder and forward, she played 168 matches for the Netherlands from her debut in 2003 until Rio 2016. She also won the European Championship in 2005, 2009 and 2011.

Best Player from Each Great Hockey Nation

Five countries have won most of the Olympic and World Cup titles in hockey history. These are our picks for each.

Country	Player	Why
India	Dhyan Chand	three Olympic golds, 37 goals in 12 Olympic matches
Pakistan	Sohail Abbas	348 international goals
Netherlands (men)	Teun de Nooijer	two Olympic golds, 1998 World Cup winner
Netherlands (women)	Maartje Paumen	two Olympic golds, 195 goals in 235 caps
Australia (men)	Jamie Dwyer	winner of the 2004 Olympic final, five FIH awards
Australia (women)	Alyson Annan	two Olympic golds, two World Cups
Argentina	Luciana Aymar	eight FIH Player of the Year awards

Records Held by These Players

Several of the players above set marks that still stand at the time of writing.

Record	Player	Mark
Most FIH Player of the Year awards	Luciana Aymar	8 (2001 to 2013)
Most FIH Player of the Year awards by a man	Jamie Dwyer	5 (2004 to 2011)
Most goals in an Olympic final	Balbir Singh Sr.	5 (1952, against the Netherlands)
Most international goals in a calendar year	Sohail Abbas	60 (1999)
Most international hat-tricks	Sohail Abbas	21
Most caps for Pakistan	Shahbaz Ahmed	304
Most goals for the Dutch women’s team	Maartje Paumen	195

Honorable Mentions

Six more players who came close and could make a top 15 on another day.

Leslie Claudius: the Indian half-back won Olympic gold in 1948, 1952 and 1956 and captained India to silver in 1960.
Udham Singh: one of only two Indian players with four Olympic hockey medals, he won gold in 1952, 1956 and 1964 and silver in 1960.
Eva de Goede: the Dutch midfielder won Olympic gold in 2008, 2012 and 2020 and was named FIH Player of the Year in 2018 and 2019.
Arthur Van Doren: the Belgian defender was FIH Player of the Year in 2017 and 2018.
Sardar Singh: the Indian midfielder played 314 matches for his country before retiring in 2018.
P. R. Sreejesh: India’s goalkeeper won Olympic bronze in 2020 and 2024 and was FIH Goalkeeper of the Year in 2020, 2022 and 2024.

More About Field Hockey

FAQ

Who is the best field hockey player of all time?

In our ranking it is Dhyan Chand of India, ahead of Luciana Aymar and Balbir Singh Sr. Dhyan Chand won three Olympic gold medals between 1928 and 1936 and scored 37 goals in 12 Olympic matches.

Who are the top 10 greatest field hockey players of all time?

Our top 10 is Dhyan Chand, Luciana Aymar, Balbir Singh Sr., Teun de Nooijer, Jamie Dwyer, Sohail Abbas, Alyson Annan, Ric Charlesworth, Hassan Sardar and Maartje Paumen.

Who is the best female field hockey player of all time?

Luciana Aymar of Argentina. She is the only player to be named FIH Player of the Year eight times, won two World Cups and took Olympic medals at four Games from 2000 to 2012.

Who has scored the most goals in international field hockey?

Among the players on this list, Sohail Abbas of Pakistan has the most, with 348 goals in 315 matches between 1998 and 2012. He passed Paul Litjens’ record in October 2004.

Who has won the most Olympic gold medals in field hockey?

Several players have three, among them Dhyan Chand (1928 to 1936), Balbir Singh Sr. and Leslie Claudius (both 1948 to 1956), Rechelle Hawkes (1988, 1996, 2000) and Eva de Goede (2008, 2012, 2020).

Who has won FIH Player of the Year the most times?

Luciana Aymar won it eight times. Among men, Jamie Dwyer holds the record with five, won between 2004 and 2011.

Which country has won the most Olympic gold medals in men’s hockey?

India, with eight. It won seven of the eight tournaments from 1928 to 1964, with players such as Dhyan Chand and Balbir Singh Sr., and added an eighth gold in 1980.