Alex Danson believes Team GB will be able to go toe-to-toe with any team in the world at Rio 2016 after the Olympic bronze medallist was nominated for the world player of the year award.
Last year proved to be a fruitful one for Danson and co after she helped qualify Great Britain for the Olympics with World League semi final success and then European Championship glory in London.
Also up for the world gongs are British duo Lily Owsley and Maddie Hinch in the Rising Star of the Year and Goalkeeper of the Year categories with voting set to close on January 20.
But, regardless of individual honours, Danson thinks the team will be fully prepared for what lies in store in Brazil.
“It’s a huge honour but it’s also a huge shock and I am absolutely delighted to be nominated and we also have young star Lily Owsley and goalkeeper Maddie Hinch nominated so it’s a great representation of where GB Hockey is at the moment,” she said.
“It’s been a brilliant year with England winning those European Championships and qualifying GB for the Olympic Games.
“It puts us up there with the best teams in the world and we are working very hard in those preparations for Rio.
“We’ve worked so hard day in day out and not only are we doing the hard work there is a real mindset and culture that we have tried to create.
“We know on our day when we bring our A game we are a team that can be competitive and hopefully we can show that in Rio.”
Sportsbeat 2016