Veteran German mid-fielder Michael Green and fiery Argentina defender Cecilia Rognoni have been respectively declared men's and women's hockey players for 2002.

Australia's Jamie Dwyer and Argentina's Augustina Garcia were named young men's and women's players respectively in the list of awardees, announced by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) in Perth, Australia, on Thursday.

India's Dhanraj Pillay was also a contender for the FIH player of the year award while Junior World Cup-winning captain Gagan Ajit Singh and Prabhjot Singh were shortlisted for the young player's award.

The winners were decided by a jury comprising coaches and mediapersons.

Twenty-five-year-old defender Rognoni was banned from international competition for a year in 1999 for throwing a ball at English umpire Gill Clarke during the Pan-Am Games. But she returned to win a silver medal for her country at the Sydney Olympics.

Michael Green is a mid-fielder with strong defence, and foresight and perception in passing. Now 30 years old, he started playing age 14. He then played at the Braunschweig club in his home town, but since moved to Hamburg in 1992. He now plays for HTHC Hamburg, who have been German and European club champions several times. Highlights of Michael's career include performances at the Atlanta and Sydney Olympics, gold at the 2002 men's World Cup and three gold, three silver and three bronze Champions Trophy medals. In addition to that, he qualified as a doctor of medicine in 1999 and started practising after the Sydney Olympics.

Soledad Garcia is a player who has caught the eye with her outstanding fast attacking skills and eye for goal. At only 21, she has already scored over 30 goals at an average of approximately 1.5 goals each match. She won gold at the women's Champions Trophy in 2002.

Aged 23, Jamie Dwyer is a striker with a fast attacking style and good stick work. Born and bred in Queensland, he first picked up a stick aged four. He describes this year's Commonwealth gold and the 2002 World Cup silver among his personal highlights, as well as the 2002 Young Player of the Year award.