Legendary hockey player Ric Charlesworth has been inducted into the inaugural Hall of Fame of Hockey Australia.

Charlesworth, presently at loggerheads with his Indian employers, is one of the 22 inductees, including 11 female recipients, whom Hockey Australia honoured on the eve of the 2008 Beijing [Images] Olympics [Images] at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The Hockey Australia Hall of Fame has been established to formally recognise those who have achieved excellence in the international arena and, by their achievements, significantly enhanced the image of the sport.

Richard Aggiss, a member of the Hall of Fame selection committee, said the committee found it difficult to select only 22 recipients.

"Selection was a difficult but exciting process - reviewing the history of the game going back to the early 1900's and comparing those players against the current era made selection a tough task," he said.

Aggiss also said the present inductees are those who retired before year 2000 and also promised to induct deserving candidates in future.

"Given the enormous success over the last number of years and to best represent all eras of Australian hockey it was decided to limit the initial group of inductees to those players and officials who retired from international hockey prior to 2000," Aggiss said. 

"I look forward to adding more names to the Hall of Fame from the modern era on a regular basis," he said.

Each Hall of Fame inductee received a custom minted solid silver medallion struck by Perth Mint.

2008 Hall of Fame Inductees: Ian Dick, Eric Pearce, Julian Pearce, Paul Dearing, Brian Glencross, Robert Haigh, Ron Riley, Ric Charlesworth, David Bell, Warren Birmingham, Mark Hager, Evelyn Tazewell, May Campbell (nee Pearce), Audrey James (nee Jones), Wendy Pritchard (nee Butcher), Mavis Gray (nee Beckett), Dianne Gorman (nee Dowd), Marian Aylmore (nee Bell), Robyn Bannerman (nee Downey), Sharon Buchanan, Liane Tooth, Jackie Pereira.

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