Australian field hockey player Matt Dawson has displayed unparalleled commitment to ensure his participation in the forthcoming Paris Olympics 2024 edition. Dawson fractured the ring finger on his right hand and, hence, there were dark clouds over his participation. When he had two options to either wait for its healing, which could've taken time, or ampute the part of the finger. The player stunned one and all by choosing the second and most difficult option.

"I didn’t have much time to make the decision. I made the decision then I called my wife, and she said, 'I don’t want you to make a rash decision',” he told Australian broadcaster Seven Network.

"But I guess I had all the information I needed to make a decision for not only playing in Paris, but for life after and giving myself the best health."

Also read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/football/manchester-united-sign-french-teen-leny-yoro-on-a-five-year-contract-ahead-of-premier-league-2024-25-742222">Manchester United sign French teen Leny Yoro on a five-year contract ahead of Premier League 2024-25</a>

<h2>AUSSIE COACH IN AWE OF DAWSON</h2>

Coach Colin Batch reacted to Dawson's decision and said, "The best way of recovering from it was to just chop the end of the finger off. So that’s what he decided to do. It’s not something a coach can decide for a player."

He added, "Full marks to Matt. Obviously he’s really committed to playing in Paris. I’m not sure I would have done it, but he’s done it, so great."

The Australian team is gearing up for Paris Olympics 2024 where they will be desperate to go a step ahead after a silver medal finish in Tokyo 2020.&nbsp;

<h2>Australia Squad for Paris 2024</h2>

Goalkeepers: Andrew Charter

Defenders: Joshua Beltz, Matthew Dawson, Jake Harvie, Jeremy Hayward, Edward Ockenden, Corey Weyer

Midfielders: Flynn Oglivie, Lachlan Sharp, Jacob Whetton, Aran Zalewski (captain)

Forwards: Tim Brand, Thomas Craig, Blake Glovers, Tom Wickham, Ky Willott

Reserves: Johan Durst, Nathan Ephraums, Tim Howard

Australian field hockey player Matt Dawson has displayed unparalleled commitment to ensure his participation in the forthcoming Paris Olympics 2024 edition. Dawson fractured the ring finger on his right hand and, hence, there were dark clouds over his participation.

Australian field hockey player Matt Dawson has displayed unparalleled commitment to ensure his participation in the forthcoming Paris Olympics 2024 edition. Dawson fractured the ring finger on his right hand and, hence, there were dark clouds over his participation. When he had two options to either wait for its healing, which could've taken time, or ampute the part of the finger. The player stunned one and all by choosing the second and most difficult option. "I didn’t have much time to make the decision. I made the decision then I called my wife, and she said, 'I don’t want you to make a rash decision',” he told Australian broadcaster Seven Network. "But I guess I had all the information I needed to make a decision for not only playing in Paris, but for life after and giving myself the best health." Also read: Manchester United sign French teen Leny Yoro on a five-year contract ahead of Premier League 2024-25 AUSSIE COACH IN AWE OF DAWSON Coach Colin Batch reacted to Dawson's decision and said, "The best way of recovering from it was to just chop the end of the finger off. So that’s what he decided to do. It’s not something a coach can decide for a player." He added, "Full marks to Matt. Obviously he’s really committed to playing in Paris. I’m not sure I would have done it, but he’s done it, so great." The Australian team is gearing up for Paris Olympics 2024 where they will be desperate to go a step ahead after a silver medal finish in Tokyo 2020. Australia Squad for Paris 2024 Goalkeepers: Andrew Charter Defenders: Joshua Beltz, Matthew Dawson, Jake Harvie, Jeremy Hayward, Edward Ockenden, Corey Weyer Midfielders: Flynn Oglivie, Lachlan Sharp, Jacob Whetton, Aran Zalewski (captain) Forwards: Tim Brand, Thomas Craig, Blake Glovers, Tom Wickham, Ky Willott Reserves: Johan Durst, Nathan Ephraums, Tim Howard

UNBELIEVABLE! Australian hockey player Matt Dawson amputates part of finger to take part in Paris Olympics

The Hockey World Cup is slowly reaching its business end. Defending champions Belgium squared up against New Zealand on Tuesday in what was an enthralling game despite the 2-0 scoreline suggesting otherwise.

The Hockey World Cup is slowly reaching its business end. Defending champions Belgium squared up against New Zealand on Tuesday in what was an enthralling game despite the 2-0 scoreline suggesting otherwise. Underdogs New Zealand could have easily walked out with a win if they showed a little more application in their finishing. Meanwhile, three-time champions Australia had to toil rather hard against Spain to earn a 4-3 win to earn a berth in the semifinals. The close nature of both matches carried forward the theme observed across the tournament. The teams ranked below in the table have been punching well above their weight and not allowing the top teams to have an easy walk over. In an exclusive interaction with WION's Sports Editor Digvijay Singh Deo, former high-performance director of Indian Hockey, David John spoke on the same and suggested that in modern hockey, the top-12 teams were not differentiated by much and on their day, any team could outmuscle the other. Excerpts: Belgium vs New Zealand was always seen as a David vs Goliath battle. Many had thought New Zealand overachieved by reaching the quarter-final. But that wasn't a walk in the park for Belgium as people were expecting. Is that showing that top-10 teams, perhaps, in world hockey when it comes to this stage, there is not much separation, especially in knockout games like these? I think the top 12...Korea showed yesterday. They are capable of getting a result and Malaysia were one hit against the post away from also going forward. So, the top 12 in this competition are very close. Belgium, it was interesting to see how they were going to play without Hendrickx. Now, they have lost him for the tournament...he was their premier drag-flicker. They have a good replacements in Tom Boon and Loïck Luypaert. Structurally though, they are very sound...they are quite happy leading by two goals and playing the game out. And absorbing the defence for long periods of time. So, New Zealand needed to press earlier. I know, they took off their goalkeeper with seven minutes left and it give them some opportunities. However, they didn't seem to press hard enough at critical times in the match to put them under pressure. WATCH | Hockey World Cup: Australia and Belgium reach semis × In the two quarter-finals today, England will go toe-to-toe with Germany while in the final round of 8 match will see the Netherlands lock horns with South Korea. WATCH WION LIVE HERE:

EXCLUSIVE: 'The top 12 are very close', says David John on the increased competition in the hockey World Cup

The 2018 Men's Hockey World Cup concluded this month with Belgium becoming the new world champions after winning a nail-biting penalty shootout against the Netherlands.&nbsp;

Organized by the FIH, it was the 14th edition of the Hockey World Cup, held from 28 November to 16 December 2018, at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, India.&nbsp;&nbsp;

A total of 16 teams participated in the tournament with each team being drawn into four groups, each containing four teams. Each team played each other team in its group once. The first-placed team in each group advanced to the quarter-finals, while the second- and third-placed teams in each group went into the crossover matches. From there on a single-elimination tournament was played.

Having won back-to-back World Cups in 2010 and 2014, Australian hockey team, fondly known Kookaburras, came into the tournament as firm favourites but they were far from impressive.

Though Australia grew in grew in confidence as the days passed, but it was the Netherlands that shattered Kookaburras's dreams of completing a hat-trick of hockey World Cup when the world No.4 knocked out the two-time defending champions in the semi-final game.

The match went into shoot-out after both the Netherlands and Australia were locked 2-2 at the end of regulation 60 minutes.&nbsp; But it was not to be Australia’s day, as Daniel Beale’s attempt was saved by Dutch goalkeeper Pirmin Blaak after Jeroen Hertzberger scored to take the Netherlands to their second consecutive World Cup final.

Belgium, on the other hand, scripted history by making their maiden appearance in the tournament's summit clash, thrashing England 6-0 in a lopsided first semi-final. Prior to this, the Red Lions’ best performance in the World Cup was a fifth-place finish in 2014's tournament at The Hague, Netherlands.

And the rest is history, as on December 16, 2018, Belgium edged past the three-time champions the Netherlands to be crowned the new hockey world champions.&nbsp;

Meanwhile, the hosts India led by Manpreet Singh finished top of Pool C after defeating South Africa 5-0, and Canada 5-1, while also managing a draw against Belgium to earn direct qualification berth for the Quarterfinal.

They faced an unfortunate 1-2 defeat against the Netherlands in the quarters to crash out of the Hockey World Cup. However, the overall performance of the young side was praised by the hockey experts.

The 2018 Men's Hockey World Cup concluded this month with Belgium becoming the new world champions after winning a nail-biting penalty shootout against the Netherlands.

The 2018 Men's Hockey World Cup concluded this month with Belgium becoming the new world champions after winning a nail-biting penalty shootout against the Netherlands. Organized by the FIH, it was the 14th edition of the Hockey World Cup, held from 28 November to 16 December 2018, at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, India. A total of 16 teams participated in the tournament with each team being drawn into four groups, each containing four teams. Each team played each other team in its group once. The first-placed team in each group advanced to the quarter-finals, while the second- and third-placed teams in each group went into the crossover matches. From there on a single-elimination tournament was played. Having won back-to-back World Cups in 2010 and 2014, Australian hockey team, fondly known Kookaburras, came into the tournament as firm favourites but they were far from impressive. Though Australia grew in grew in confidence as the days passed, but it was the Netherlands that shattered Kookaburras's dreams of completing a hat-trick of hockey World Cup when the world No.4 knocked out the two-time defending champions in the semi-final game. The match went into shoot-out after both the Netherlands and Australia were locked 2-2 at the end of regulation 60 minutes. But it was not to be Australia’s day, as Daniel Beale’s attempt was saved by Dutch goalkeeper Pirmin Blaak after Jeroen Hertzberger scored to take the Netherlands to their second consecutive World Cup final. Belgium, on the other hand, scripted history by making their maiden appearance in the tournament's summit clash, thrashing England 6-0 in a lopsided first semi-final. Prior to this, the Red Lions’ best performance in the World Cup was a fifth-place finish in 2014's tournament at The Hague, Netherlands. And the rest is history, as on December 16, 2018, Belgium edged past the three-time champions the Netherlands to be crowned the new hockey world champions. Meanwhile, the hosts India led by Manpreet Singh finished top of Pool C after defeating South Africa 5-0, and Canada 5-1, while also managing a draw against Belgium to earn direct qualification berth for the Quarterfinal. They faced an unfortunate 1-2 defeat against the Netherlands in the quarters to crash out of the Hockey World Cup. However, the overall performance of the young side was praised by the hockey experts.

Top teams and their performance in Hockey World Cup 2018

Last edition champions Australia secured a consolation bronze medal after mauling England 8-1 at the men's hockey World Cup at the Kalinga Stadium here on Sunday.

Tom Craig (9th, 19th, 34th minute) scored a hat-trick while Jeremy Hayward (57th, 60th) struck twice for Australia in the bronze medal play-off. Blake Govers (8th), Trent Mitton (32nd) and Tim Brand (34th) were the other goal getters for Australia.

World number 7 England's lone goal in the lop-sided match came from the stick of Barry Middleton in the 45th minute.

This was Australia's fifth bronze medal in the history of the tournament. The last time the Kookaburras had to be satisfied with a third-place finish was way back in 1994 in front of their home crowd in Sydney.

The two teams met in the pool stage earlier in the tournament with Australia winning 3-0.

The victory also enabled Australia to further increase their head-to-head record against England. The two sides have faced each other 28 times earlier with Australia winning 21 matches as against four by England while the remaining games ended in draws.

After sitting back in the initial minutes, Australia secured their first penalty corner in the sixth minute but Govers' flick was deflected well over the post.

However, it did not take long for Govers to register his name in the scoresheet. He scored his seventh goal of the tournament with a reverse hit after receiving a through ball.

A minute later, the Kookaburras doubled their lead when Craig scored from close range with a rebound from Brand's pass after his initial try was saved by England goalkeeper Harry Gibson.

Australia keeper Tyler Lovell then made a good block to deny Liam Ansell from close quarters.

Australia made the scoreline 3-0 in their favour four minutes into the second quarter through another fine field goal by Craig, following a brilliant link-up play with Jake Harvie and Govers.

Australia went into the half time break with a comfortable 3-0 lead.

Just seconds into the third quarter, England secured a penalty corner but Luke Taylor's attempt was easily saved by Charter.

Mitton then extended Australia's lead in the 32nd minute with a rebound after Hayward's try from a penalty corner was saved by Gibson.

Before England could settle down from the setback, Australia pumped in two more goals within a minute to make the contest a completely one-sided affair.&nbsp;

First, Brand finished off a fine Mitton pass for the fifth goal and then Craig got the sixth one for Australia and completed his hat-trick with another field strike.

England scored a consolation goal just seconds before the end of third quarter with Middleton finishing off into an empty goal from a Phil Roper pass.

Australia scored their seventh goal in the 57th minute when Hayward converted a penalty corner. Australia then secured back-to-back penalty corners in the final minute, the second of which was converted by Hayward to seal a convincing win.

Last edition champions Australia secured a consolation bronze medal after mauling England 8-1 at the men's hockey World Cup at the Kalinga Stadium here on Sunday.

Last edition champions Australia secured a consolation bronze medal after mauling England 8-1 at the men's hockey World Cup at the Kalinga Stadium here on Sunday. Tom Craig (9th, 19th, 34th minute) scored a hat-trick while Jeremy Hayward (57th, 60th) struck twice for Australia in the bronze medal play-off. Blake Govers (8th), Trent Mitton (32nd) and Tim Brand (34th) were the other goal getters for Australia. World number 7 England's lone goal in the lop-sided match came from the stick of Barry Middleton in the 45th minute. This was Australia's fifth bronze medal in the history of the tournament. The last time the Kookaburras had to be satisfied with a third-place finish was way back in 1994 in front of their home crowd in Sydney. The two teams met in the pool stage earlier in the tournament with Australia winning 3-0. The victory also enabled Australia to further increase their head-to-head record against England. The two sides have faced each other 28 times earlier with Australia winning 21 matches as against four by England while the remaining games ended in draws. After sitting back in the initial minutes, Australia secured their first penalty corner in the sixth minute but Govers' flick was deflected well over the post. However, it did not take long for Govers to register his name in the scoresheet. He scored his seventh goal of the tournament with a reverse hit after receiving a through ball. A minute later, the Kookaburras doubled their lead when Craig scored from close range with a rebound from Brand's pass after his initial try was saved by England goalkeeper Harry Gibson. Australia keeper Tyler Lovell then made a good block to deny Liam Ansell from close quarters. Australia made the scoreline 3-0 in their favour four minutes into the second quarter through another fine field goal by Craig, following a brilliant link-up play with Jake Harvie and Govers. Australia went into the half time break with a comfortable 3-0 lead. Just seconds into the third quarter, England secured a penalty corner but Luke Taylor's attempt was easily saved by Charter. Mitton then extended Australia's lead in the 32nd minute with a rebound after Hayward's try from a penalty corner was saved by Gibson. Before England could settle down from the setback, Australia pumped in two more goals within a minute to make the contest a completely one-sided affair. First, Brand finished off a fine Mitton pass for the fifth goal and then Craig got the sixth one for Australia and completed his hat-trick with another field strike. England scored a consolation goal just seconds before the end of third quarter with Middleton finishing off into an empty goal from a Phil Roper pass. Australia scored their seventh goal in the 57th minute when Hayward converted a penalty corner. Australia then secured back-to-back penalty corners in the final minute, the second of which was converted by Hayward to seal a convincing win.

Australia thrash England 8-1 to clinch bronze medal in hockey WC