Pol Amat Escudé (born 18 June 1978 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain) is a Spanish retired field hockey player, who played as a striker. In 2008 he was awarded World Hockey Player of the Year, becoming the first Spaniard to win the award.[1]

Pol Amat

Personal information
Born	18 June 1978  (age 44)
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	78 kg (12 st 4 lb)
Sport
Medal record Men's field hockey Representing  Spain Olympic Games 1996 Atlanta Team 2008 Beijing Team World Cup 1998 Utrecht Team 2006 Mönchengladbach Team European Championship 2005 Leipzig Team 2007 Manchester Team Champions Trophy 2004 Lahore Team 2005 Chennai Team 2006 Terrassa Team Champions Challenge 2003 Johannesburg Team

Career

National team

Amat made his international debut at the age of 17 in 1995 before being selected for the Atlanta Olympics in 1996. That year, Spain won silver with Amat playing alongside legends such as Juan Escarré and Javier Arnau.^{[citation needed]}

After competing for Spain in both the Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 Olympics, he won another silver medal in Beijing 2008. He was also part of the Spanish team at the 2012 Summer Olympics.^{[citation needed]}

The striker won his first major title with the Spaniards at the 2004 Champions Trophy in Lahore. Arguably Amat's finest hour came in the final of the 2005 European Nations Cup. With Spain trailing Netherlands 2–1, Santi Freixa grabbed an equaliser with less than three minutes to go. The stage was set for Amat, who produced two goals in less than a minute to seal a 4–2 victory, giving Spain a title that had eluded them for 31 years.^{[citation needed]}

Amat also scored a memorable golden goal at the 2006 World Cup when he brilliantly flicked the ball over the South Korean goalkeeper to claim the bronze medal for Spain.^{[citation needed]}

References

External links

• Pol Amat at Olympedia
• London 2012 profile

Awards
Preceded by Jamie Dwyer	World Hockey Player of the Year 2008	Succeeded by Jamie Dwyer