Lars Balk has stopped playing for the Dutch national hockey team after 11 years and 176 international appearances. The 30-year-old Kampong defender won Olympic gold in Paris in 2024 and European Championship titles in 2021 and 2023. He told national coach Jeroen Delmée that he no longer felt the drive to keep improving. Balk’s last major tournament was the World Cup in the Netherlands, where the team missed the final after losing to Spain in the semifinals and then lost the bronze-medal match. He remains active for Kampong, where he has a three-year contract.