Top Dutch stars for Hockey India players' auction

Dutch legend and world's highest capped player, Teun de Nooijer will be among eight stars from the Netherlands to feature in next month's players' auction for the inaugural season of the Hockey India League (HIL) to be held in January next year.

De Nooijer, who made his debut in 1994 before retiring last month after playing 453 international matches, has always been a key member of the Dutch national team.

He participated in four Olympic Games -- Atlanta 1996 (Gold), Sydney 2000 (Gold), Athens 2004 (Silver) and London 2012 (Silver) -- with three World Cups including Utrecht 1998 (Gold), Kuala Lumpur 2006 (Bronze) and New Delhi (Bronze).

De Nooijer, 36, was named FIH World Player of the year award in 2003, 2005 and 2006 and participated in nine Champions Trophy tournaments from 2000.

Penalty corner specialist Taeke Taekema is another big star from the Netherlands who will be in the players' auction. The 32-year-old defender has experience of 239 internationals scoring 221 goals.

Taekema has been the key member of the Netherlands team at the Athens Olympic Games in 2004, where they won silver. He scored seven goals and hammered  a maximum of 11 goals in the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008 where his team finished fourth.

He participated in three World Cups (2002, 2006, 2010) and eight Champions Trophies since 2000 having won top scorer award during this event in 2002 and 2006.

Floris Evers, captain of silver medal winning Netherlands team in London Olympics, is also set to join the league.

With 230 caps, 29-year-old Evers has a vast experience in the Dutch side. He has been key member of the Netherlands team that won silver medal during Athens Olympic Games 2004. Also, he was member of the Netherlands team in the Champions Trophy from 2004 to 2007.

Other Dutch players to be in auction are defender Wouter Jolie (122 caps), Marcel Balkestein (84 caps), Jeroen Hertzberger (110 caps), Jaap Stockmann (63 caps), Sander Baart (35 caps) and Tim Jenniskens (38 caps).

Photograph: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images