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Dhanraj nominated for FIH award

India's Dhanaraj Pillay has been nominated for the award [Photo by Sportalasia]

As the top nations in world hockey prepare to compete in the Champions Trophy in Holland, consensus for the 1999 International Player of the Year awards have reached the final stages.

Last year’s winners, Dutchman Stephan Veen and Australia’s Alysson Annan have been nominated again. There are of course a host of other nominations, 17 women and 15 men in all. These nominations were made by various national associations around the world and by hockey journalists who keep track of what's going on in the hockey world.

At this stage, the nominations have been forwarded to a selection panel for final voting. The panel comprises international coaches, umpires, journalists, and athletes. The selection panel will be taking into account various player qualities such as their technique and skill, the commitment they have to the game, their discipline, the influence they have on the team performance and of course, their personality.

Steve Jaspan, the selection panel chairman commented, "It is extremely difficult to choose between all these quality players. The reputation of most players is second to none and there is only a fine line to distinguish between their performance in 1999. I really look forward to the awards presentation at the Champions Trophy."

The winners will be announced on Thursday June 1at Wagener Stadium in Amstelveen in The Netherlands at 6.30pm.

The selection panel members: Chairman: Steve Jaspan (SAF), Umpires: Christian Siebrecht (GER), Marelize de Klerk (SAF) Coaches: Maggie Souyave (ENG), Toni Forellat (SPA) Journalists: Claire Middleton (ENG), S. Thyagarayan (IND), Athletes' Panel: Liane Tooth (AUS), Carsten Fischer (GER)

Players nominated:

Men
Sohail Abbas (PAK), Stephen Davies (AUS), Teun De Nooyer (NED), Jorge Lombi (ARG), Joaquin Malgosa (SPA), Christian Mayerhofer (GER), Mirnawan Nawawi (MAL), Greg Nicol (SAF), Dhanraj Pillay (IND), Benjamin J Sharpe (ENG), Seung Tae Song (KOR), Jay Stacy (AUS), Parag Umesh (NZL), Stephan Veen (NED), Michael York (AUS)

Women
Magdalena Alcega (ARG), Alyson Annan (AUS), Carmen Barea (SPA), Sonia Barrio (SPA), Britta Becker (GER), Kerry Bee (SAF), Tina Cullen (ENG), Rechelle Hawkes (AUS), Natascha Keller (GER), Heike Latzsch (GER), Anna Lawrence (NZL), Karina Masotta (ARG), Katrina Maree Powell (AUS), Jill Reeve (USA), Jane Sixsmith (ENG), Carol Thate (NED), Dillianne Van den Boogaard (NED)