The ongoing Hero Hockey Junior World Cup is only two-days old but it has already produced some stars and Belgium skipper Mathew Cobbaert is one of them.
The 20-year old striker-led team is sitting pretty with two consecutive wins and is confident of making the quarter-finals with just one to play in the league stage. The Red Dragons (as they are popularly known as) lived up to the name as they defeated the defending champions, the mighty Germany in the first match to trigger the first upset of the tournament on the opening day itself.
In the second match, they had a comparatively easy outing as they gunned down the Egypt squad 5-0 with the skipper leading from the front with two goals. Belgium are an emerging hockey powerhouse, with impressive results in last five years. They returned to Olympics in 2008 after a gap of 28 years and finished ninth while in london Olympics, they took the fifth position. They also gave ample proof of their credentials by claiming the Hockey World league semifinal with a win over the current World Cup holders Australian team.
The youth team of Belgium is also making regular podium finishes lately and Cobbaert feels that these are signs of good things to come. Cobbaert has been a part of a successful young generation who have won U-16 European championship silver medal, were crowned U-18 European champions in 2009 and the U-21 European champions in 2012. He feels honoured to lead a strong group and foresees that the talented bunch will continue the good work and help the senior team in making podium finishes, which has eluded the earlier Belgium teams.
“Though I am the captain, I am like any other member and it’s all about the Belgium team for me. I have been a part of the successful younger generation of Belgium teams at different age-groups. This group is the current European champion and we are seriously looking forward to this junior tournament. I believe in coming five years, we will be a force to reckon with at world stage and will be eyeing podium finishes,” Cobbaert, who is currently pursuing logistics Management, said.
Cobbaert started playing hockey at the age of five and followed in the footsteps of his father, who was also a hockey player. “Back in our country, soccer is big but hockey is also making good progress. We have a good administration which provides us good coaches in all aspects of the game. At domestic level, the clubs drive the game. We have the Belgium Hockey league with 12 clubs competing for the title. In our country, only the members of the national team get paid. But, I play for the KHC Dragons and they pay me. last year, my club reached the final of the Euro Hockey league but unfortunately we lost the match to HC Bloemendaal which was also the legendary Teun de Nooijer’s farewell match,” Cobbaert, who is also a guitarist, pointed out.
Asked about his experience playing in India, he said, “It is a beautiful country. People love and acknowledge hockey players here. We follow Hockey India league on the internet and know how massive it is. It has been a very good experience coming here,” he ended.