Ockenden’s future undecided after premature Paris exit
Eddie Ockenden is tossing up his next move after the feel good moment the Australian flag-bearer and his Kookaburras were chasing never arrived in Paris.
The pursuit by Australia’s men’s hockey team of a second Olympic title will stretch beyond 20 years after they were beaten 2-0 by the Netherlands on Sunday.
Five-time Olympian Ockenden won silver in Tokyo three years ago, when they squeezed past the Dutch at the same stage in a shoot-out.
At 37 he admits a sixth Games – no other Australian hockey player has managed five – may be out of reach.
“I’ve got no idea. I haven’t said and I don’t know if I would anyway,” he said of his retirement plans after the loss.
“I really don’t know. Realistically four years doesn’t seem possible.”
“But you don’t really have to (retire now if there’s no plan to play at the 2028 Games).
“But life changes and things move on and we’ll see what happens.”
The Tasmanian was a popular choice to carry the flag alongside canoe star Jessica Fox at the opening ceremony before going on to play his 450th Test during the tournament.
“That was very special; I felt a lot of energy from it and felt good things were coming,” he said of the honour.
“I was optimistic, we all were. We thought good stuff was going to happen, that’s what we were thinking the whole way through.
“It means so much to us and we want it so badly. That’s why it’s so special as well, because it it so rare and hard to do.
“You have to play to your absolute best to win … it’s very hard and when you don’t quite do it, you don’t win.
“Maybe we didn’t and that sucks.”
Coach Colin Batch pointed out that the Dutch, a hockey powerhouse, also hadn’t won gold since defending their title in 2000.
“That shows how difficult it is,” he said.
“It is hard to swallow when you have high expectations and suddenly you’re out of it.
“Those little moments in the game you have to perform well and they did it better than us.”
With six of the 16-man squad on Olympic debut, Batch hinted there would be further chances for fresh faces after trialling a host of options in the lead-up to the Games.
“This group has been together for basically eight years so natural attrition, that’s what happens at the end of an Olympic cycle,” he said.
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