Shingles, Mantell and Brogdon all retire from international hockey
BySportsbeat
Published 24/12/2016 at 16:13 GMT
With a new centralised squad set to be announced by Great Britain Hockey, the lead up to Christmas has seen a raft of male retirements from the international game as Dan Shingles, Simon Mantell and Alastair Brogdon joined Dan Fox in calling it a day.
2016 Rio Olympics - Hockey - Preliminary - Men's Pool A Brazil v Britain - Olympic Hockey Centre - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - 09/08/2016. Simon Mantell (GBR) of United Kingdom (R) competes with Bruno Mendonca (BRA) of Brazil.
Image credit: Reuters
Fox called time on his career on Thursday, with Brogdon following suit later that day, before Mantell and Shingles made it a foursome on Friday.
Brogdon, currently playing in Rotterdam, won 149 international caps, scoring 23 goals, and led Wimbledon to back-to-back National League titles in the past two seasons.
The 29-year-old tasted success in his first ever international tournament as England won EuroHockey gold in 2009, but it was the only gold medal he would win in his international career.
The forward missed out on selection for London 2012, but made it to Rio, only to have his tournament cut short after one game.
"Whilst I'm sure I'll miss the international competition in the short term, I still have the challenge of achieving success with my new club in the Netherlands and also that of starting a career away from the hockey pitch," he said.
That hand injury allowed Mantell, the travelling reserve, to make his Olympic debut after also missing out four years previously.
The younger brother of Richard Mantell, Simon racked up 212 international appearances and found the net 62 times.
He also won gold in 2009 and appeared in two World Cups for England, as well as three Commonwealth Games.
"His positivity was infectious and he had a long career with a lot of highs but he had some lows too," said head coach Bobby Crutchley of the 32-year-old.
"He had some difficult injuries including 12 months out with concussion yet he still kept positive, came fighting back and played some of his best hockey right at the end.
"That's a real credit to him as a person. I admire him as a hockey player but even more as a person."
The last to retire was Shingles, who won 70 international caps and at 30 years old has chosen to focus on action away from the international scene.
Shingles, a tough-tackling defender, appeared in two EuroHockey Championships for England, one World Cup, a World League Semi-Final and last year's World League Final.
And Shingles, who played domestically for Southgate and Reading, admitted he exceeded his own expectations in the game.
"In all honesty I never believed I would be an international hockey player, it simply wasn't on my radar," he said. "Having played very little junior hockey and no junior international representation, gaining even one cap was a massive achievement for me.
"To go to an Olympic Games [as a reserve] was beyond my wildest dreams so going to Rio and being part of that squad is something I will always be immensely proud and humbled to be a part of."
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