(Hockey sport news) Olympic 2021 Live Update: The hockey competitions at the Tokyo Olympic Games 2020 take place from Saturday 24 July to Friday 6 August 2021. Both the men’s and women’s competitions feature 12 teams, split into two pools of six ahead of quarter-finals, semi-finals and medal matches.
The Third day saw Belgium and Great Britain finish the morning session joint top of men’s Pool B after both achieved their second consecutive victory at the Oi Hockey Stadium in the Tokyo Olympics. In the women’s competition, the Netherlands and Australia continued their good form in the competition with wins.
Men’s Pool B
Germany 1-3 Belgium
Cedric Charlier netted twice as reigning World and FIH Hockey Pro League continued their winning streak with a 3-1 victory over European rivals Germany. Charlier’s fifth minute opener was fortunate, with a speculative cross-shot being diverted into the goal via a Germany stick. However, about the second goal it was a whole different story, with the Red Lions attacker smashing a ferocious strike from the top of the circle under the crossbar just two minutes after his first. Belgian penalty corner ace Alexander Hendrickx made it 3-0 five minutes after half time, with Germany’s Martin Haner finally netting a goal from a penalty corner nine minutes from time.
“I think we can be really happy with the performance”, said Belgium’s Simon Gougnard. “We’ve had two good first games in the pool, which puts us in a good position and I’m looking forward to the next game [against South Africa on Tuesday] already. We still have some stuff to improve, so we’ll keep our feet on the ground as we haven’t done anything yet, but it is a really good start.”
Germany captain Tobias Hauke said: "We didn't start well. The first quarter we weren't aggressive enough and then we needed some time to get into the game. The second half was quite good and at the end, we did have enough ball possession in the circle of Belgium but just one goal and three corners is not enough against this team.”
Great Britain 3-1 Canada
Great Britain moved level on points with Belgium by recording their second victory on the trot, beating Canada 3-1. Great Britain dominated most of the match, twice hitting the frame of the goal but failing to convert in either of the opening two quarters. The breakthrough came three minutes after half time when Liam Ansell fired home a brilliant pass from Sam Ward, who himself doubled the advantage eight minutes later with a perfectly executed penalty corner drag-flick. Floris van Son’s superb backhand strike in the fourth quarter made things interesting and gave the Canadian’s something to cheer about, but Ansell tapped home from close range to kill off any danger of a Canadian comeback.
“I’m obviously really happy”, said Great Britain captain Adam Dixon. “Another three points, six points in total so far, so in some ways it is the perfect start. I think we are still finding our way into the tournament, which is the same for lots of teams, having not played lots of international hockey in the last few weeks. I keep saying the same message: it’s about building momentum. We’ve got the European leg of the pool stage now, so three pretty big games against Germany, Netherlands and Belgium are coming up, which we are going to have to be ready for.”
There was a milestone moment for Polish umpire Marcin Grochal, who took charge of his 100th international to earn his Golden Whistle.
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Women’s Pool A
Netherlands 4-0 Ireland
World, European and FIH Hockey Pro League champions the Dutch team produced a magnificent display to record a 4-0 victory over Ireland, making it two wins in two in Women’s Pool A. Marloes Keetels put the Netherland team ahead in the eighth minute, but a brilliant goalkeeping performance from Ireland’s Ayeisha McFerran kept the Oranje out for the next 41 minutes. Eventually though, the pressure unfolded, with Malou Pheninckx, Laurien Leurink and Frederique Matla all on target as the competition favourites sit on top of the pool.
"I'm just so proud”, said Netherlands captain Eva de Goede, commenting on the performance of her team. “I think when you get into the team as a youngster you just don't know what to expect and you just play. Now, looking at the girls who are younger and really fitting into the team nicely, I think the level of playing and level of passing is so high. I really love that we can play like that because I really do think that that's one of our strengths and we can really outplay another team."
Ireland goalkeeper Ayeisha McFerran said: "Unfortunately today just wasn't quite our day. We dug in well and I'm really proud of the defensive effort everyone put in. It was a team effort out there but that's the Dutch for you. They're just quite good, aren't they? There's several things we have to take and learn from it. We can't just brush it under the carpet, but we have to move on."
It was a personal milestone for Ireland captain Katie Mullan, who played her 200th senior international match.
Women’s Pool B
Australia 6-0 China
The Hockeyroos made it two wins by convincingly thrashing China, with the team trained by double Olympic gold medallist Katrina Powell netting six times from open play in a 6-0 win. Emily Chalker scored two goals in the second quarter before Brooke Peris slotted home just after half time. Hat Trick of goals arrived in just four fourth quarter minutes as Rosie Malone, Steph Kershaw and Grace Stewart completed the scoring to put the Australians both top of the standings and strengthened their course for a place in the Olympic quarter-finals.
It was a milestone match for China’s captain Peng Yang, who also played her 200th senior international match.
