They first came calling together more than a decade ago, as kids finding their way in top-grade hockey — a world removed from being legends of the game. Cue 2026 and Alexander Hendrickx and Arthur Van Doren have a trophy cabinet overflowing with everything that is to be won in the sport.
They are still as exuberant, excited and enthusiastic as teenagers having their moment in the sun, old warhorses of the Belgium team that fake offence at ‘old’, laugh at their own jokes and complete each other’s sentences. They might be on the wrong side of 30, when teams start looking at replacements, but remain key to the Red Lions’ plans of reclaiming their dominance.
Down years
The last couple of years haven’t been great vis-a-vis their own high standards. Belgium failed to make the semifinals at both the Paris Olympics and the 2025 European Championships, and the two are among the very few to continue, accepting both revised roles in the side and the challenge of keeping pace with the newcomers.
Hendrickx and Van Doren, the defender duo that first visited India for the 2013 Junior World Cup, spent almost two months in the country before heading home after the Pro League games in Rourkela. During this period, they won the Hockey India League with Vedanta Kalinga Lancers and remained unbeaten in the four Pro League outings, Hendrickx going second on the goalscorers’ table with nine so far in eight matches.
“The longest we’ve been on the road was at the beginning of the Pro League season, about five weeks, in different countries. I think we toured the whole world in those five weeks. Now we have been seven weeks in one country. And it always helps if you’re winning; then you feel better about it and you’re happier to be anywhere,” Hendrickx — at 32 a year older, but you wouldn’t know it from their demeanours — quipped.
Winning recipe: Van Doren, the Belgium captain, believes ‘one of the most crucial parts of a successful team’ is building ‘a culture and for everybody to find their own place and rhythm’.
| Photo Credit:
BISWARANJAN ROUT
Van Doren, the captain and the more serious one, agreed. “It’s been good. Obviously, we had a great HIL, which also helps. We’ve played well, we won the HIL, we look back at that period with fond memories, of course. The advantage is that compared to last year, we did four different cities, which sort of cut the stay into parts. Also the transition between international duty and HIL also sort of broke it a little bit. But it’s been a long stay away from family and friends and I don’t think it is weird when I say I will be happy to finally be flying back to Belgium.”
It’s difficult to not be drawn in by the charismatic pair. As intense as they are on field, there is a playfulness off it that gives a glimpse of why they continue to enjoy what they do. The camaraderie off the field — not just between the two but among the entire Belgian side — they admit is a big contributor to their success on it.
“If you think about it logically, the most time you spend in a tournament block is off the field. And the part on the field is actually a very small part. So everything you do in and around the hockey field is for that part on the hockey field to be perfect. It is quite important to have a good understanding, not only between two players but in the culture in general. I think it is often underestimated and it’s something that needs time to build,” Van Doren said.
“Which is why often newer or younger teams, on paper with enough quality, need time to build a culture and for everybody to find their own place and rhythm. I think that’s one of the most crucial parts of a successful team. Obviously the quality you bring on field with your stick, that’s important. But it goes way further than only hockey skills or penalty corner conversions.”
Team bonding
Hendrickx elaborated: “We also have a lot of fun in the group off pitch, you’re chilling at the pool together or playing card games, laughing. I think that brings everybody together as well. And you talk. You get to know each other on a personal level better, family-wise, stuff like that. You celebrate all your important moments together. All that adds to being a good team.”
Don’t judge a book… Hendrickx is chatty, but there is no doubting the constantly ticking brain and the competitiveness behind the ever-present toothy grin.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Hendrickx is chatty, but there is no doubting the constantly ticking brain and the competitiveness behind the ever-present toothy grin. The Junior World Cup is the one trophy Van Doren and he don’t have, and never will, for obvious reasons, but the 2013 edition clearly laid the foundation for Belgium’s rise from No. 10-to-15 in the world to the very top inside 10 years.
“We cannot go back in time, but I think we also learned a lot from that tournament, losing the quarterfinal against France. You learn from your mistakes and everything we did not do well there, we tried to do better in the future. Every step in your career helps you to get further. But I think there’s still some spots left in the trophy cabinet, because we want to win as long as we’re playing. We want to win everything!” Hendrickx declared as a battle cry, forcing even Van Doren to break into a laugh.
With Tom Boon (36) still making life difficult for rival teams and Hendrickx (32) and Van Doren (31) quite young in comparison and with the richness of their accomplishments, it is easy to overlook the fact that the current Belgian squad has four generations playing and training together, 2025 Junior World Cup captain Lucas Balthazar, at 20, the latest addition.
Does it feel weird? “Yes, thank you. We’ve covered that part, we are getting old,” Van Doren protested. “We started with not too young and now it’s outright old, can we talk about something else,” Hendrickx added with pretend anger. But they agree that age does force you to respect your body more than ever.
Listening to the body
“You get wiser, you get more experience so you know what your body needs in what instance. You learn from injuries and your career on how to handle your body. I speak for myself, but probably Arthur as well, when I say I was not a big fan of stretching or recovery or all the stuff like that as a youngster. But once you get older you start to realise what your body needs. You take more care, go to the physio, eat and sleep well. You do everything to be as fit as possible because the youngsters, they come in with fresh legs, they can just go,” Hendrickx explained, Van Doren nodding his agreement.
The former Olympic, World and European champions have been doing it for a long time now. And both have no plans of going anywhere at least until the 2028 Olympics. That’s three more years of teams scratching their collective heads to find ways of wrong-footing Van Doren and denying Hendrickx’s drag-flicks. Good news for Belgium, not so much for the rest.
Published – February 27, 2026 11:54 pm IST
