Montreux (Switzerland), Nov 13 (IANS) Australia's Jamie Dwyer and Luciana Aymar of Argentina were voted 2010 International Hockey Federation's (FIH) Players of the Year, with Germany's Tobias Hauke and Zhao Yudiao of China winning the FIH Young Player of the Year Awards.
The FIH Player of the Year Awards ceremony took place at a gala dinner for the FIH Congress and Forum here Friday.
It was a fourth Player of the Year title for Dwyer, having won the award in 2004, 2007 and 2009. Dwyer inspired the Kookaburras team to the gold medal in the 2010 World Cup, Champions Trophy and the Commonwealth Games.
For Aymar, it was a record seventh title, an achievement which may never be bettered. It rounded off a stunning year for the golden girl of Argentinean hockey, who like Dwyer was also a World Cup winner in 2008.
Dwyer aims to continue playing until at least the London 2012 Olympics where he hopes to add a second gold medal to the one he claimed at Athens 2004. Dwyer got the award on the birthday of his father.
Aymar, considered by many to be the greatest female hockey player of her generation, has had a sensational year on the field, winning the Samsung FIH Champions Trophy in Nottingham before producing a number of awe-inspiring performances to help Las Leonas to glory at the BDO FIH World Cup in her home city of Rosario, Argentina.
Fittingly, Aymar lifted the World Cup trophy on the same day that she won her 300th international cap, and was also named as the player of the tournament.
Already an Olympic gold medallist, Hauke was a key player in the German team that reached the final of the Hero Honda FIH World Cup in India earlier this year.
Hauke is a skilful and industrious midfielder, having already claimed over 130 caps for Germany despite being just 23 years old. In 2009, he helped his club team Rot-Weiss Köln claim Germany's Bundesliga, and has recently made the move to Havesthuder THC.
Hauke is hugely respected on and off the field by players and coaches alike, and his stunning ability has been recognised.
China's Zhao Yudiao won the award from among five shortlisted players that included India's teenage sensation Rani Ramphal.
Zhao made a name for herself this year thanks to superb individual performances at the Samsung FIH Champions Trophy and the BDO FIH World Cup.
The 21-year-old has already collected an Olympic silver medal (Beijing 2008) and looks to be capable of helping her nation achieve even greater things in the future.
Zhao started playing hockey for the "Liaoning" team in December 2000, and within five years she was participating in the 2005 FIH junior World Cup.
In 2007, she made her debut for the China senior team and quickly developed into a key player thanks to her superb attacking play and goals from midfield. Zhao becomes the first ever player from China to win an FIH Player of the Year award.