André Bolhuis enjoyed a successful field hockey career, both as a player and official. With Utrecht club Kampong, defender Bolhuis won four Dutch titles between 1972 and 1976. His greatest moment in international competition came in 1973, when the Dutch team won the World Cup. In front of a home crowd, they defeated India after penalty shots, with Bolhuis diving to prevent an Indian goal in extra time. He again played a final at the 1978 World cup, but lost to Pakistan. Bolhuis was unlucky at the Olympics, placing 4th in both 1972 and 1976. As captain of the Dutch team, he elected to join the Western boycott of the 1980 Games, and no Dutch team was sent to Moscow - he later came to regret this decision. Bolhuis then became manager of the Dutch men’s squad, also during the 1984 Olympics, before moving on to administrative positions. He was chef de mission of the Dutch Olympic team at the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics. In 1998, he was elected president of the Dutch Field Hockey Federation (a position he held until 2006) and he sits on the board of the Dutch NOC. A dentist, André Bolhuis wrote his PhD thesis on tooth injuries in field hockey.
Netherlands