Eddie Ockenden exclusive: No letting up for Australia’s captain on cusp of history at 2023 FIH Hockey World Cup

Few people in sport have experienced what Australia captain Eddie Ockenden has in his career on the hockey pitch. 

Almost 18 years after his international debut, the 35-year-old Tasmanian is the very definition of longevity in sport. 

Ockenden’s first Olympic Games was Beijing 2008, where he secured a place on the podium by **scoring twice in his nation’s 6-2 victory over the Netherlands in the bronze-medal match. **

Since then, a slew of trophies has come his way, including World Cup titles in 2010 and 2014, four Commonwealth gold medals, and Olympic silver at Tokyo 2020. 

Now at the 2023 FIH Hockey World Cup, the perennial champion has the chance to add a third personal world title to his resume. 

But for someone who has grown into the ultimate team player for the Kookaburras, he also has the opportunity to achieve something more important: a joint-record fourth World Cup victory for Australia. 

Olympics.com caught up with the Aussie skipper before the semi-finals of the World Cup to talk about his incredible career and how he views his team’s chances in India.

The serious business starts here for Eddie Ockenden at 2023 IFH Hockey World Cup

For someone doing this for the fourth time, there’s a seasoned calm about Ockenden when he considers Australia’s chances in this year’s World Cup, where they face Germany on 27 January for the opportunity to secure their place in Sunday’s final. 

“We know as the tournament goes longer and you’re playing in the main games at the end of the tournament that they’re going to be tough,” he told Olympics.com in an exclusive interview in India. “So we’re expecting another tough game [in the semifinals] and we’ve just got to make sure we’re playing the best we can on the day. And that’s why we practice at home, that’s what we train for.”

Ockenden has often attributed his love for hockey as the reason behind his longevity in the game. But as he stands on the verge of yet another title-winning push in the World Cup semifinal, he stressed that this is only a part of what has allowed him to become the fourth-most capped Australian team sportsperson of all time. 

“You have to enjoy the challenging parts,” he revealed. “You have to enjoy the tough games and the way that you get to be your best. So it’s not just enjoying the fun times because there’s a lot of those, but enjoying the challenges and the hard things.”

While the “hard things” may have been fewer and farther between for someone with such an exemplary record in international hockey, there is one notable omission to his stellar career in sport: Olympic gold. 

At Tokyo 2020, Australia fell at the last hurdle in a devastating penalty shootout loss to Belgium in the final to leave Ockenden one step away from Olympic gold. While it’s something that still plays on his mind, the Aussie captain takes positives from the way the world’s number one-ranked team performed in Japan. 

“I’m not going to say sometimes I don’t think about it or wish things would be different,” he reflected honestly. “But I took a lot of positives from Tokyo. I reflect kindly on that tournament and the Olympics. We would have loved to have changed a few things but you can’t do it now, so I don’t really dwell on it too much.”

Australia on brink of history at 2023 FIH Hockey World Cup

So far, the Hockey World Cup in India has been an undeniable success for Australia, who look to be in formidable form as they prepare for the last four. 

A 9-0 victory over France and 9-2 win over South Africa saw them at their free-scoring best, but their ability to grind out a 4-3 victory over Spain in the quarterfinals was perhaps the most important experience the three-time World Cup winners can take from the tournament so far. 

In the semi-finals, they face a Germany side who overcame pre-tournament expectations by besting England in a game where they rebounded from a 2-0 deficit to win on penalties. It was a lesson that there will be no room for complacency when Australia ready themselves to compete in the same stage of the tournament they lost at the last World Cup in 2018.

However, there’s little chance that Ockenden will fall into that trap. Those 18 years of international hockey have left him with a deep understanding of the joys and heartbreak of sport that he will draw upon as he seeks to make history for his country in India. 

“Thinking about [Beijing] 2008, we lost the semi-final and I probably still try to learn from things that happened in that game,” he told us. “You try your best to learn and improve yourself. It doesn’t always work out and things change, but there’s definitely things that you can learn from. Having the experience is good and I guess, for the team as well, we’ve had good experiences in big games and that’s only a good thing.”

Eddie Ockenden's career in numbers

• 4 Commonwealth Games gold medals (2010, 2014, 2018, 2022)
• 2 World Cup gold medals (2010, 2014)
• 1 Olympic silver medal (2021)
• Two Olympic bronze medals (2008, 2012)
• 1 FIH Pro League title (2019)
• 2 Champions Trophy gold medals (2009, 2011)
• 4 Kookaburras Player of the Year (2010, 2014, 2015, 2019)