Nelson Onana

Belgian field hockey player

Nelson Onana

Personal information

Full name

Nelson Zacharie M. Onana Alima

Born

(2000-03-01) 1 March 2000 (age 24)
Sweden

Playing position

Forward

Club information

Current club

Léopold

Youth career

Pingouin

Senior career

Years

Team

0000–2019

Pingouin

2019–2024

Braxgata

2024–present

Léopold

National team

Years

Team

Apps

(Gls)

2019–2021

Belgium U–21

(2)

2019–present

Belgium

(10)

Medal record

Men's field hockey

Representing Belgium
EuroHockey Championship
	2023 Mönchengladbach

Nelson Zacharie M. Onana Alima (born 1 March 2000)^[1] is a field hockey player who plays for Léopold and the Belgium national team.^[2]^[3]

Personal life

Onana was born in Sweden to a Belgian mother and a Cameroonian father. In Sweden he played floorball, when his family returned to Belgium he started playing field hockey.^[4]

Club career

Onana started playing hockey at Pingouin, where he played until 2019 when he moved to Braxgata.^[5] After five season in Boom, he moved to Brussels to play for Léopold.^[6]

International career

Onana has represented Belgium at both junior and senior level.^[7]^[3]

Under–21

In 2019 Onana made his debut for the Belgium U–21 team during an eight–nations tournament in Madrid, winning a bronze medal.^[7]

He was a member of the junior team at the 2021 Men's FIH Junior World Cup in Bhubaneswar.^[8]

Red Lions

Before making his junior debut, Onana earned his first senior cap in a 2019 test match against Russia. He went on to appear in the team once more that year.^[7]

Onana didn't represent the national team again until 2022, when he appeared in the season three of the FIH Pro League. He has since been named permanently in the national squad.^[7]^[2]

He won his first medals with the national team in 2023, taking home bronze at the EuroHockey Championship in Mönchengladbach, as well as season four of the FIH Pro League. Now he is a basis player in the belgian red lios.^[9]^[10]

References

^ "Team Details – Belgium". tms.fih.ch. International Hockey Federation. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
^ ^a ^b "RED LIONS". hockey.be (in Dutch). Royal Belgian Hockey Association. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
^ ^a ^b "ONANA Nelson". eurohockey.altiusrt.com. European Hockey Federation. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
^ Klanke, Peter (18 August 2024). "Gaan we zien in Gladbach: Nelson Onana, de new kid on the block". hockey.nl (in Dutch). Hockey.nl. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
^ "Transfert : Nelson Onana au Braxgata". okey.lalibre.be (in French). 21 May 2019.
^ "Nelson Onana et José Basterra confirmés au Léopold". hockeybelgium.lesoir.be (in French).
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "ONANA Nelson". tms.fih.ch. International Hockey Federation. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
^ "ONANA NELSON". juniorworldcup.hockey. FIH Junior World Cup. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
^ "Red Lions roar their way to men's EuroHockey bronze". eurohockey.org. European Hockey Federation. 27 August 2023. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
^ "Nelson Onana, attaquant des Red Lions : "Si les jeunes peuvent briller, c'est grâce aux vieux qui les soutiennent"". rtbf.be. RTBF. 5 July 2023. Retrieved 22 January 2024.