Australia great De Young retires

Melbourne: Olympic gold medallist Liam De Young became the latest leading Australian field hockey star to announce his retirement today.

De Young, 32, is one of only four men to play more than 300 games for Australia and leaves the sport a three-time Olympic medallist, double World Cup winner, three-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist and four-time Champions Trophy winner. He joins veteran midfielder Rob Hammond, who last week announced his immediate retirement from international field hockey following the Kookaburras` recent World Cup triumph in the Netherlands. Long-time coach Ric Charlesworth, 62, has also announced he was stepping down before next month`s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Another veteran member of the team, Jamie Dwyer, 35, was left out of the 16-man squad for the Games. "As much as I enjoy being part of the Kookaburras and feel privileged to have been part of such an elite programme, I know that physically and mentally I can no longer commit to the programme 100 per cent and it is time to step away," De Young said. "I could not have asked for a better finish to my career than to win the World Cup so convincingly."