Terrance Pieters

Terrance Pieters (born 14 December 1996) is a Dutch professional field hockey player who plays as a forward for the Netherlands at international level and also plays as a forward for Kampong.[1][2][3] He is notably arguably the first person of colour to play for the Netherlands men's national field hockey team as well as the first dark player to play for Dutch hockey team.[4][5]

Terrance Pieters
Personal information
Born (1996-12-14) 14 December 1996
Club information
Current club Kampong
National team
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Netherlands
Medal record
World Cup
Bronze medal – third place2023 Bhubaneswar/Rourkela
EuroHockey Championship
Gold medal – first place2023 Mönchengladbach

Biography

He was born to a Surinamese mother and to Dutch father of Indonesian origin. His elder sister Melissa Pieters is also a field hockey player. Both he and his elder sister grew and raised up in Almere which is a multicultural city.[6] During his childhood days, just like fellow young boys of colour, he also dreamed of pursuing his interest in the sport of football with even aiming to play for world renowned clubs like Manchester United and Barcelona. He even idolised former Ivorian veteran footballer Didier Drogba and had since worn the No 11 jersey as a sign of respect to him.[5] However, he decided to give up his ambition of becoming a footballer after realising the fact that it would be easier for his parents to send both him and his sister to the same hockey club. He pursued field hockey at the age of six and he changed his mindset from football to hockey mainly due to the influence of his sister. His cousin Marlon Landburg is also a field hockey player.[5]

He openly spoke out against the racism for the first time in 2020 sharing his own experiences in wake of aftermath the brutal murder of African-American man George Floyd.[7] He revealed the bitter experience of having confronted racism and discrimination as a person of colour in a Dutch national paper de Volkskrant, where he points out that derogatory remarks such as monkey and Zwarte Piet were often directed at him especially at primary school where he studied.[8][5][9]

International career

He was part of the Dutch team which competed at the 2016 Men's Hockey Junior World Cup.[10] He was a vital member of the Dutch side which emerged triumphant at the 2017 Men's EuroHockey Junior Championship. He made his senior international debut with the Dutch team in 2017.

He was part of the Dutch side which claimed third place at the 2019 Men's FIH Pro League which was also the inaugural edition of the Men's FIH Pro League. He was also named in Netherlands squad for the 2020–21 Men's FIH Pro League and Dutch finished at fifth position during the tournament.[11] He was ruled out of the national team for weeks due to a hamstring injury and he was subsequently omitted from selection trials by the previous national head coach Maximiliano Caldas for the 2020 Summer Olympics.[12]

He was part of the Dutch national side which competed at the 2021–22 Men's FIH Pro League where Spain finished at seventh position.[13] He is a member of the Dutch squad which is currently competing at the 2022–23 Men's FIH Pro League. He was also named in Dutch squad for the 2023 Men's FIH Hockey World Cup and it also marked his maiden FIH Hockey World Cup appearance.[14]

References
  1. "PIETERS Terrance | Netherlands hockey player". International Hockey Federation. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
  2. "Spelerslijsten Hoofdklasse Dames en Tulp Hoofdklasse Heren 2021-2022" (PDF). knhb.nl (in Dutch). 2023-01-21. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  3. "Terrance Pieters". Hockey.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 2023-01-21.
  4. "Hockey's diversity problem out in open". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
  5. Unnikrishnan, Dilip. "Hockey World Cup: Terrance Pieters, the Dutch person of colour who is inspiring a change". Scroll.in. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
  6. "Hockey WC 2023: Terrance music with elite tune". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
  7. Manuja Veerappa (Jan 19, 2023). "Hockey World Cup: Dutch striker Pieters champions fight against racism | Hockey News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
  8. "Terrance Pieters On Racism In Hockey: 'It's Done Now, I Dare To Confront' | Hockey World News". 2020-06-18. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
  9. "Terrance Pieters over racisme in het hockey: 'Het is klaar nu, ik durf de confrontatie aan te gaan'". myprivacy.dpgmedia.nl. 16 June 2020. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
  10. "Team Details Netherlands". tms.fih.ch. International Hockey Federation. p. 13. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
  11. "Team Details Netherlands". tms.fih.ch. International Hockey Federation. p. 7. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
  12. "Hockeyer Terrance Pieters terug bij Oranje". www.omroepflevoland.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 2023-01-21.
  13. "Team Details Netherlands". tms.fih.ch. International Hockey Federation. p. 8.
  14. Sean McAlister (10 January 2023). "2023 Men's Hockey World Cup: Full hockey squads for all nations". olympics.com. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
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