Ken Pereira began playing field hockey at the age of 16. An active athlete
in many sports including 12 years of ice hockey, Pereira was drawn to the
game by a cousin who played on Team Canada. After suffering a torn knee
ligament prior to the 1999 Pan Am Games, Pereira was determined to play.
After a number of scoreless games, his teammates began to bug him. "They
were giving me a hard time because I hadn't scored," he laughs, "but I just
told them I was saving it for the final." And then he did just that,
scoring the winning goal over Argentina to secure a berth in Sydney.
Pereira points out that after the 2000 Olympics there will be a few
retirements from the national team. He would like to stick around until
2004 in Athens and play a bigger leadership role for some of the younger
players.
2000 Games
Sept. 30: Canada lost 3-0 to Spain, finished in 10th place overall.
Sept. 28: Men: Canada def. Poland 3-2 in classification game, advancing to ninth-place playoff against Spain.
Sept. 26: Men: Canada tied Malaysia 1-1 to finish with 0-2-3 record in Pool A round-robin play.
Sept. 24: Canada tied Britain 1-1, putting the Canadians at 0-2-2 in Pool A.
Sept. 20: Canada lost 5-2 to the Netherlands, dropping to 0-2-1 in Pool A round-robin play.
Sept. 20: Canada lost 2-1 to Germany, dropping to 0-1-1 in Pool A round-robin play.
Sept. 16: Canada tied Pakistan 2-2 in preliminary round game.
Photos
Ken Pereira goes for the ball
2000 Games Field Hockey Coverage
