Matt Dawson was a part of Australia’s silver medal-winning squad at the Tokyo Olympics. He had also competed in the 2016 Olympics where Australia exited in quarterfinals.
New Delhi: The never-say-die attitude of the Australian athletes came to the fore once again as field hockey star Matt Dawson went to extraordinary lengths to make himself available for the upcoming Paris Olympics. The 30-year-old was in doubt for the Paris Games after he broke the ring finger on his right hand recently. Doctors gave him two choices – ampute a part of his injured finger or let it recover (which was time-consuming). Dawson chose the first option as that was the only way he could go to Paris.
“I didn’t have much time to make the decision,” Dawson was quoted as saying to Australian broadcaster Seven Network. “I made the decision then I called my wife and she said, “I don’t want you to make a rash decision”. Having made his debut for Australia in 2014, Dawson has been an integral part of the Australian hockey team over the last 10 years.
He was a part of the Australian squads in 2016 (Rio) and 2020 (Tokyo) Olympics. Australia won silver medal in Tokyo. Dawson’s sacrifice is a testament of his dedication and commitment to the Australian hockey team and certainly an inspiration for others to follow.
Australia head coach Colin Batch praised Dawson for his courage and admitted he would not have been sure to take such a step. “The best way of recovering from it was to just chop the end of the finger off,” Batch said. “So that’s what he decided to do. It’s not something a coach can decide for a player.
“Full marks to Matt. Obviously he’s really committed to playing in Paris. I’m not sure I would have done it, but he’s done it, so great,” he added. Australia have grouped alongside Belgium, India, Ireland, Argentina and New Zealand in Paris Olympics.
Australia start their campaign against Argentina on July 27 before facing Ireland (July 29) and Belgium (July 30). They play New Zealand on August 1 before completing their group stage commitments against India a day later.
