Pol Amat

Pablo "Pol" Amat Escudé[1] (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.[2]

In this Catalan name, the first or paternal surname is Amat and the second or maternal family name is Escudé; both are generally joined by the conjunction "i".

Pol Amat
Personal information
Full namePablo Amat Escudé
Born18 June 1978 Edit this on Wikidata (age 45)
Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight78 kg (172 lb)
Medal record
Men's field hockey
Representing  Spain
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place1996 AtlantaTeam
Silver medal – second place2008 BeijingTeam
World Cup
Silver medal – second place1998 UtrechtTeam
Bronze medal – third place2006 MönchengladbachTeam
European Championship
Gold medal – first place2005 LeipzigTeam
Silver medal – second place2007 ManchesterTeam
Champions Trophy
Gold medal – first place2004 LahoreTeam
Bronze medal – third place2005 ChennaiTeam
Bronze medal – third place2006 TerrassaTeam
Champions Challenge
Gold medal – first place2003 JohannesburgTeam

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.

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.

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.

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.

References
  1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Pol Amat". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2 December 2016.
  2. "El mejor de la historia del hockey hierba español, Pol Amat". RTVE. 22 May 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
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