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The Hague, June 12 (IANS) The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has announced that South Africa skipper Marsha Cox, England's Anne Panter, Germany's Moritz Furste and Australia's Liam De Young were elected by the World Cup players to the FIH Athletes Committee.
FIH, in a media release, stated that the four players were elected during the Rabobank Hockey World Cup 2014.
The FIH Athletes Committee has existed for some time, but this was the first time that four of the eight seats have been elected by the players.
"The new election process is part of our drive to better involve athletes in the growth of hockey," said Leandro Negre, FIH president.
"Our sport is growing with strong momentum at the moment and it is critical that we keep athletes close to our decision making. We are delighted with the outcome of this election and look forward to working more closely with Anne, Liam, Marsha and Moritz."
Every National Association had the opportunity to nominate and this year's candidates represented five continents. Of the 21 candidates nominated, four were current members of the Athletes' Committee; eight are competing in the Rabobank Hockey World Cup 2014 and 15 are current players.
"Of 432 competing World Cup athletes, 92 percent have voted in the inaugural FIH Athletes' Committee elections," said Michael Green, who was re-elected as chairman of the committee for another two years.
"This shows just how important the FIH Athletes Committee is to our current players, and how involved they want to be with the FIH. I am confident the four that have been elected in The Hague will be superb ambassadors and important contributors as we move forward."
Marsha Cox is South Africa's captain and has amassed over 330 international caps.
Cox, a three-time Olympian, has now appeared in four World Cups, and is the highest capped South African athlete across all sports codes.
England's Anne Panter, who retired in early 2014 with 108 caps for Great Britain is also a bronze medallist at the 2012 London Olympics. Panter was an integral part of the national side for a decade, winning two European Championship bronze and a silver at the 2012 Champions Trophy.
Liam De Young recently surpassed the 300-mark for international caps with the Kookaburras. Medalling in all three of his last Olympic appearances, De Young is a core of the Australian midfield now with four World Cups under his belt, and set to defend the Kookaburras' 2010 World Cup title.
Unable to participate in this year's World Cup due to injury, Moritz Furste is no stranger in the hockey world. A two-time Olympic gold medallist, this German midfielder has 227 international caps and was named FIH Player of the year in 2012. He also boasts of a gold medal from the 2006 World Cup.
The elected and appointed athletes will start their mandate in March 2015, while the FIH Executive Board expects to appoint three more candidates at Congress in November.
