HHIL's top pic Boon draws inspiration from Sardar, Dwyer

Surprised to emerge as the costliest player ever of the Hero Hockey India League (HHIL), Belgian forward Tom Boon says besides his family he has always looked upto India captain Sardar Singh, Australian great Jamie Dwyer and Dutch legend Teun de Nooijer for inspiration.
Boon, who was born in a hockey family, was acquired by new outfit Dabang Mumbai for a whopping USD 103,000 in the closed bid for the 2015 season, against his base price of USD 20,000, netting him more than USD 25,000 per week in the four-week event.
"Beside my family, I always loved to see players like Sardar Singh, Jamie Dwyer and Teun de Nooijer, who I had the chance to play with in Hockey Club Bloemendaal. They inspire me a lot," Boon told PTI in an email interview.

Boon was born in a hockey family. His grandmother Jacqueline Ronsmans was a Belgian international player, just like his mother Carine Boon-Coudron and his uncles Eric and Marc Coudron (Belgian record international with 358 games). Also his sister Jill Boon plays at the highest Belgian level.
Boon feels being picked up by a new franchise it will be relatively easy for him to fit into the team's scheme of things.
"Frankly speaking, I did not expect to be picked up at this price. But it's a nice feeling that I was picked up by Dabang Mumbai. As they are a completely new team with a new set-up it will be easy to adjust with everyone in the team in terms of coordination on the field," the 24-year-old said.

After fetching a record price in the closed bid, Boon knows the team's expectations would be high on him, but he is open to learn from other senior players and also share his experiences with them.
"I will be looking at giving my best on the field and continuing my good form for the franchise in the upcoming league. Coming from different countries it will be an experience to share the dressing room with everyone and I see this as a platform to better by play by learning from the rest of the players in the team," the Belgian, who made his international debut in 2008 said.

"Our team is new. It is a mix of experience as well as young guns who are looking at proving themselves on the international arena," Boon said.