Black Sticks mix experience and youth for 2024 Olympic Games

Hockey New Zealand has revealed the 16-strong Black Sticks men’s squad for the upcoming 2024 Olympic Games in Paris next month.

Following their recent first-place finish at the FIH Nations Cup in Poland, and third place at the 2024 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia, the team will be looking to vindicate their disappointing ninth placing at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

Black Sticks head coach Greg Nicol says that the team has been slowly building and is showing good form at the right time ahead of the Olympics.

“We have worked exceptionally hard to get ourselves to the physical level we need to be at, but we have also worked hard on supporting each other on and off the pitch,” Nicol said.

The squad includes a mixture of both experience and youth, with veterans Hugo Inglis and Simon Child featuring in their fourth Olympic Games, plus six making their Olympic debuts.

Captain Nic Woods says that this Olympic tournament will be an opportunity for the team to prove themselves and nullify any critics.

“We’ve had some excellent preparation this year and we’re coming into Paris with belief in our abilities as a team," Woods said.

“We will definitely be the underdogs, but we relish the challenge and opportunity to try and do something truly special."

As a special touch, members of the 1976 Montreal Olympic gold medal-winning side were on hand at today's announcement to present the players with their kits ahead of the games

Nicol additionally has selected Leon Hayward, Brad Read and Malachi Buschl as travelling reserves, with George Enersen, Benji Culhane, David Brydon, Aidan Sarikaya, George Baker, Jonty Elmes and Sam Hiha being selected as non-travelling reserves.

The Black Sticks begin their campaign on July 28th against India, before facing defending Olympic champions Belgium, Australia, Argentina, and Ireland in their other pool matches.

Black Sticks 2024 Olympic squad: Nic Woods (Captain), Dom Dixon, Charlie Morrison, Kane Russell, Blair Tarrant, Simon Yorston, Sean Findlay, Isaac Houlbrooke, Joe Morrison, Hayden Phillips, Scott Boyde, Simon Child, Sam Lane, Jake Smith, Hugo Inglis, Dane Lett.