Minke Gertine Booij (born January 24, 1977 in Zaanstad

Zaanstad

Zaanstad is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Its main town is Zaandam. It is part of the metropolitan area of Amsterdam.-Population centres:...

) is a Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 field hockey

Field hockey

Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...

 player, who played more than 150 international matches for the Netherlands national team

Netherlands women's national field hockey team

The Netherlands' national women's field hockey team is currently number two on the FIH world rankings and they are the 2006 world champions and reigning Olympic champions...

 since her debut, on September 9, 1998 in a friendly match against Japan.

Booij was captain of the Dutch squad that won the gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics

2008 Summer Olympics

The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...

 in Beijing

Beijing

Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

 and that became World Champion at the 2006 Women's Hockey World Cup

2006 Women's Hockey World Cup

The 2006 Women's Hockey World Cup is the 11th edition of the Women's Hockey World Cup. It was held from September 27 to October 8, 2006 in Madrid, Spain.Netherlands won its sixth World Championship after beating Australia 3–1...

. She also was a member of the Holland squad that won the silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics

2004 Summer Olympics

The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...

 in Athens

Athens

Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...

, and the bronze medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics

2000 Summer Olympics

The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...

 in Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

. After winning her first major title, the central defender was named WorldHockey Player of the Year (2006). She received the award after winning the final against Australia. It was the second time a Dutch player won the award after Mijntje Donners

Mijntje Donners

Wilhelmina Petronella Ardina Maria Donners is a field hockey striker from the Netherlands, who played 234 international matches for the Dutch National Women's Team, in which she scored 97 goals.Donners made her debut on April 1, 1994 against South Korea , and was a member of the team, that won the...

 finished first in 2003. Booij, who won the award with 43 votes, took over the title from Argentine ace Luciana Aymar, winner of the 2001, 2004, 2005 and 2007 WorldHockey Player of the Year Award. Aymar finished second with 38 votes, just five short of Booij. German Natascha Keller

Natascha Keller

Natascha Keller is a German field hockey striker. She won a gold medal as a member of the German team at the 2004 Summer Olympics. She also competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics, 2000 Summer Olympics and 2008 Summer Olympics...

 reached the third position. At the 2007 Champions Trophy another gold medal was added to her achievements.

Booij plays as a defender for Dutch champions (since 1998) HC Den Bosch

HC Den Bosch

Hockeyclub 's-Hertogenbosch is a Dutch field hockey club, which was founded on July 14, 1937 in 's-Hertogenbosch. With a total number of 1.977 members it is currently the sixth hockeyclub in the Netherlands....

. Her brother Menno also played for the Dutch national field hockey team.