Des Abbott

Desmond Abbott
Born	(1986-01-10) January 10, 1986 Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
Occupation	Field hockey player
Known for	Australian men's national field hockey team midfielder and striker

Desmond Abbott (born 10 January 1986 in Darwin, Northern Territory) is an Australian field hockey player who operates primarily as a midfielder and striker. He has been a member of the Australia men's national field hockey team since his debut on 28 January 2007. Abbott has earned gold medals at the Hockey Champions Trophy in 2008, 2009, and 2010, secured gold at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, and obtained a bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics. He attempted to qualify for the 2012 Summer Olympics but was ultimately not selected.

Personal

Born in Darwin, Northern Territory on 10 January 1986, Abbott is of Australian Aboriginal descent. Commonly referred to as Des, he is also passionate about Australian rules football and is employed by a water utility company. His uncle, Joe Daby, is recognized as one of the Northern Territory’s leading field hockey athletes. Abbott is listed among the Indigenous Olympians of Australia by the Australian Olympic Committee.

Field hockey

Abbott’s roles on the field include midfield and striker. He dons jersey number 32 when playing for the national team. At the club level, he competes for the Aquinas Reds and represents the NT Stingers in the Australian Hockey League, where he wears number 17. In June 2010, he scored during a match where the NT Stingers were defeated 4–1 by Western Australia. Earlier, in January 2005, Abbott was included in Australia's U21 squad for a five-game test series against Malaysia held in Brisbane, being one of four players from Darwin selected. In June 2005, he was among five Northern Territory athletes representing Australia at the U21 World Cup. In 2009, Abbott played professional hockey in the Netherlands.

National team

Abbott earned his first senior international cap on 28 January 2007 during the Dutch Series hosted in Canberra. In January 2008, he took part in the Five Nations men's hockey tournament conducted in South Africa. He contributed to Australia’s triumphs at the Hockey Champions Trophy tournaments of 2008, 2009, and 2010. Notably, Abbott participated in the decisive gold medal match against Germany at the 2009 Champions Trophy, which Australia won with a score of 5–3. He was also a member of the Australian squads that clinched gold at both the 2010 Commonwealth Games and the 2010 World Cup.

At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Abbott secured a bronze medal. During Australia’s opening game against Canada, he scored three goals and added another goal in the bronze medal match against the Netherlands, contributing to a commanding 6–1 victory. Abbott holds the distinction of being the first Aboriginal male field hockey player to represent Australia at the Olympic Games. Under coach Ric Charlesworth, he was one of fifteen players with fewer than ten international caps who were incorporated into the squad in April 2009 as preparation for the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Due to injury, Abbott was unable to participate in the May 2011 Azlan Shah Cup. In December 2011, he was selected for a twenty-eight player training group aiming for inclusion in the men's national team for the 2012 Summer Olympics. This group was scheduled to be reduced by June 2012. From January through mid-March, Abbott trained in Perth, Western Australia. He was one of only two players from Northern Territory chosen. During February’s training camp, Abbott participated in a four-nations test series featuring Australia’s elite squads alongside teams from the Netherlands and Argentina. However, he missed part of this camp due to a quadriceps strain.

Recognition

In 2009, he received a nomination for the Qantas Northern Territory Sportsperson of the Year and secured the runner-up position in the International Hockey Federation's 2008 Young Men's Player of the Year honors.