Lars Balk

Lars Balk (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈlɑrz ˈbɑl(ə)k]; born 26 February 1996) is a Dutch professional field hockey player who plays as a defender or midfielder for Kampong and the Dutch national team.[1]

Lars Balk
Personal information
Born (1996-02-26) 26 February 1996
Playing position Defender / Midfielder
Club information
Current club Kampong
Youth career
2001–2008 MHC Vianen
2008–2014 Kampong
Senior career
Years Team
2014– Kampong
National team
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2017 Netherlands U21 15 (0)
2015– Netherlands (indoor) 12 (1)
2016– Netherlands 71 (3)
Medal record
Men's field hockey
Representing the  Netherlands
World Cup
Silver medal – second place2018 Bhubaneswar
Bronze medal – third place2023 Bhubaneswar/Rourkela
European Championship
Gold medal – first place2021 Amstelveen
Gold medal – first place2023 Mönchengladbach
Bronze medal – third place2019 Antwerp
FIH Pro League
Bronze medal – third place2019 Amstelveen
Champions Trophy
Bronze medal – third place2018 Breda
EuroHockey Junior Championship
Gold medal – first place2014 Waterloo
Gold medal – first place2017 Valencia
Men's indoor hockey
Indoor World Cup
Gold medal – first place2015 Leipzig

Club career

Balk started playing hockey at the age of five at his local hockey club MHC Vianen.[2] When he was 12 years old and wanted to play on a higher level, he switched to Kampong.[2] He made his debut for the first team of Kampong when he was 17 years old.[3] Balk played in all four matches in the 2014–15 Euro Hockey League, where they were eliminated in the quarter-final. In his second Euro Hockey League, they reached the final and won the tournament.

International career

Before Balk made his debut for the outdoor senior team, he played for the indoor team in the 2015 Indoor World Cup, where they won the gold medal.[4] He made his debut for the senior national team in January 2016 in a test match against Argentina.[5] After he was not selected in the 2017 EuroHockey Championship squad for the senior team, he played in the 2017 EuroHockey Junior Championship.[6] Balk played in all seven matches in the 2018 World Cup and scored one goal. They eventually reached the final, where they lost to Belgium.[7] In June 2019, he was selected in the Netherlands squad for the 2019 EuroHockey Championship.[8] They won the bronze medal by defeating Germany 4–0.[9]

References
  1. "Lars Balk". hockey.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 27 March 2019.
  2. "Lars Balk in hockeyselectie van Oranje". www.hetkontakt.nl (in Dutch). Het Kontakt. 27 November 2017. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
  3. Collewijn, Sander (9 November 2018). "Lars Balk: de mug, het on-Nederlandse klootzakje van Oranje". hockey.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 27 March 2019.
  4. "BALK Lars". tms.fih.ch. International Hockey Federation. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
  5. "BALK Lars". tms.fih.ch. International Hockey Federation. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
  6. "Alexander Cox maakt EK-selectie Jong Oranje Heren bekend". hockey.nl (in Dutch). 30 July 2017. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
  7. "Belgium's Red Lions win Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018". FIH. 16 December 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
  8. "Selectie Heren EK Hockey 2019 bekend". www.knhb.nl (in Dutch). Koninklijke Nederlandse Hockey Bond. 29 July 2019. Archived from the original on 9 August 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  9. "Hockeyers verslaan Duitsland weer en pakken brons". www.ad.nl (in Dutch). Algemeen Dagblad. 24 August 2019. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
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