New Delhi, July 26: For a quick recovery that would enable him to play in the Olympic 2024, Australian hockey star Matt Dawson has opted to amputate part of a finger to fulfil his dreams of competing in the Paris Games, beginning on Friday, the media reported.
Matt had broken a digit on his right hand during national team training two weeks ago and full recovery from surgery to repair it would take a long time and cause him to miss the Olympics.
Speaking to the Parlez Vous Hockey podcast, he said “I’m closer to the end of my career. This could be my last Olympics and I felt that I could still perform at my best. That’s what I was going to do: If taking the top of my finger was the price I had to pay, that’s what I would do.”
Matt, 30, and his Australian hockey national team kookaburras will face Argentina on Saturday. He has competed in the Olympic Games twice–in Rio de Janeiro (2016) and Tokyo (2020). He won one silver medal and he is now set to be a three-time Olympian at the Paris Games.
