Beijing Olympic Games

Updated: 2008-08-22 22:58:07

(BEIJING, August 22) — The Netherlands beat China 2-0 in the final of the Women’s Hockey tournament to give the 14-time Champions Trophy top-three finisher its first Olympic Women’s Hockey gold since Los Angeles 1984.

China stunned the Hockey world by defeating Athens Olympic champion Germany in the semifinals. A relative newcomer to the sport, China earns its best ever Olympic finish in Hockey by winning silver.

Two second-half goals by Naomi van As and Maartje Goderie of the Netherlands sealed the game for the Dutch who plotted and executed a brilliant plan that brought China to a virtual standstill.

The Netherlands, who won their only other gold medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Games and had lost to Germany in the 2004 Games final in Athens, owed their success on Friday to captain Minke Booij who marshaled the Dutch defense to frustrate the Chinese attacks.

China looked distinctly nervous in their first Olympic Hockey final. Denied space, China struggled to put together a move much less score a goal.

Goalkeeper Zhang Yimeng kept China afloat in the first half saving from three penalty corners in the first half, but she could not prevent As from sweeping home a pass from Jannekke Schopman from a 51st minute penalty corner to put the Netherlands in front.

It became 2-0 in the 63rd minute when Goderie found the net after umpire Soledad Iparraguirre allowed advantage inside the circle following a hectic scramble.

China forced two penalty corners midway through the second half, but found it difficult to penetrate the Dutch defense where Booij was outstanding.

The Netherland’s strength in midfield meant China could not resort to the aerial ball or the long hits that had seen them score goals in previous matches. At the other end, the movement of the Dutch forwards led to a well deserved victory.

Updated: 2008-08-22 20:45:45

Claudia Ines Burkart (No.24) of Argentina celebrates. (Photo credit: Lars Baron/Bongarts/Getty Images)

World No. 2 Argentina the bronze in Olympic Women’s Hockey tournament on Friday, August 22, beating defending champions Germany 3-1.

Tina Bachmann (No.2) of Germany reacts after losing the match. (Photo credit: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Members of Argentina celebrate. (Photo credit: Lars Baron/Bongarts/Getty Images)
Fanny Rinne (No.16) of Germany and Claudia Ines Burkart (No.24) of Argentina compete for the ball. (Photo credit: Lars Baron/Bongarts/Getty Images)

Updated: 2008-08-22 20:32:48

(BEIJING, August 22) — Argentina scored two unanswered goals in the first half of the Women’s Hockey bronze medal match and then added one more goal in the second on their way to a 3-1 victory over Athens Olympic champion Germany. This is Argentina’s second consecutive bronze medal in Olympic Women’s Hockey.

Making better use of their chances, Argentina scored through Claudia Burkart (11th minute), Carla Rebecchi (23rd) and Noel Barrionuevo (62nd) while Germany’s lone goal came in the 45th minute when Anke Kuehn scored.

Argentina’s first goal came from a badly executed penalty corner as Mariana Gonzalez Oliva failed to stop the push. But she recovered to pass to Burkart who was left free to drive to the boards.

A shaken Germany conceded another goal when their goalkeeper Kristina Reynolds failed to cover an attempt from Alejandra Gulla and Rebecchi, lurking near the post, flicked the ball in.

Germany pulled one back early in the second half when Kuehn struck from just inside the circle after Julia Mueller put her through. The goal was upheld after video referral.

Germany momentarily took control as they pressed hard for the equalizer, but their forwards wasted several chances. Intent on attacking, Germany left their defense open and Argentina forced a penalty corner which Barrionuevo converted for the insurance goal.

Germany won a series of late penalty corners, but they were unable to capitalize as Argentina took their second consecutive Olympic bronze.

Updated: 2008-08-22 01:27:19

(BEIJING, August 21) — China will take on World No. 1 the Netherlands in the final of the Women’s Hockey competition, while Argentina and Germany will fight it out for the bronze medal at the Olympic Green Hockey Stadium on Friday.

China and the Netherlands will fight for gold in the last match of the day. This is the first time that China has made it into the Olympic finals and, playing in front of a home crowd, it will be their best chance at winning the gold medal.

The Netherlands will not want a repeat performance of their 2-1 loss to Germany in the 2004 Athens finals as they strive for their second-ever gold medal in the Olympics.

In the 2008 Champions Trophy, the Netherlands defeated China 3-0 in the third and fourth placing, while in the preliminary round matches here on August 14, the Netherlands won 1-0.

China will have to stop Maartje Paumen’s penalty corners and make use of their quick counter-attacking plays to cause problems for the Netherlands defense.

Germany will meet Argentina in the bronze medal match. This will be a rematch of the 2008 Champions Trophy finals in which the silver owner Argentina defeated the third place finisher Germany with a 6-2 scoreline. In the preliminary rounds on August 16, Argentina once again dominated, as two late goals gave them a 4-0 win over Germany.

Argentina will hope to maintain the bronze medal they won at Athens 2004 and will be looking to Luciana Aymar and Alejandra Gulla to play a big part for the team.

Germany’s strikeforce, led by Natascha Keller and Fanny Rinne, will have to convert their opportunities to give Germany a chance for a medal finish.

The first match of the day will be between South Africa and New Zealand in the classification 11-12 match. Both teams completed their preliminary rounds at the bottom of their respective pools without registering a single point.

New Zealand finished in sixth position while South Africa finished ninth at Athens 2004.

Both teams will want to avoid the disappointment of finishing the competition in last place.

Australia and Great Britain will compete with each other in the classification 5-6 match. The Australian team is disappointed about not being able to progress to the semifinals, and the only consolation for them would be to finish the competition in fifth place.

Great Britain, however, is fast-rising in Women’s Hockey, and it will take something special from players such as Angela Lambert, Nicole Hudson and Melanie Wells for Australia to claim fifth place.

Crista Cullen’s goals have been crucial for Great Britain in the preliminaries, and she will be looking to help the team improve over its eighth place finish in the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

Updated: 2008-08-22 01:26:10

(BEIJING, August 21) — Spain and Germany fought back from the brink of defeat to set up the gold medal match in the Men’s Hockey competition at the Olympic Green Hockey Stadium on Thursday, August 21. World champions Germany, trailing by a goal four minutes from the end, overcame the Netherlands 4-3 in the penalty shootout after the sides drew 1-1. Spain went 2-0 down against defending champions Australia but fought back brilliantly to snatch a 3-2 win in the second semifinal.

The Spaniards, seeking their maiden gold medal, showed character after conceding goals in the first minute of both halves. Des Abbott and Eddie Ockenden gave Australia a 2-0 lead, but had no answer to the individual brilliance of Spanish forwards, Eduard Tubau, who scored twice to equalize, and Santiago Freixa, who netted the match-winner two minutes from time.

In the other semifinal, Germany’s goalkeeper Max Weinhold emerged as the hero as he saved three attempts during the shootout. The victory was also Germany’s first Olympic win against the Dutch since Tokyo 1964 and gives Germany its first entry into the final since Barcelona 1992, where they won the gold medal.

Taeke Taekema, the hero of many a Dutch win, was the culprit as he failed to convert in sudden death. Timme Hoyng scored for the Dutch in the 66th minute and Philipp Zeller of Germany equalized two minutes later to force extra time.

The teams tied 3-3 during the penalty tie-breaker as Weinhold of Germany and Dutch goalkeeper Guus Vogels of Netherlands made two saves each before Weinhold’s decisive third stop.

The first match of the day had Belgium and Canada battling for ninth and 10th spots. Belgium thrived in the wet conditions and outplayed Canada 3-0 with Belgium’s Jerome Dekeyser scoring twice and John Dohmen once to finish a creditable ninth. Canada ended their campaign on a disappointing note in 10th spot, with a missed penalty stroke from Wayne Fernandes of Canada not helping their cause.

Both teams finished in the same positions as they did the last time they participated in the Olympics. Belgium last participating in the Olympics at Montreal 1976 while Canada competing at the 2000 Sydney Games.

New Zealand beat Pakistan 4-2 in the Classification 7-8 match. Pakistan finished the Olympics in eighth, their lowest position in 15 Olympic appearances, after the loss to New Zealand. Hayden Shaw of New Zealand converted two penalty corners, while his compatriot Simon Child and Gareth Brooks were also on target for the Kiwis. Pakistan, after missing many chances in the first half, improved in the second half as Syed Abbas Haider Bilgrami and Rehan Butt scored.

Updated: 2008-08-21 23:42:05

(BEIJING, August 21) — Spain turned back a 2-0 deficit and defeated Australia 3-2 to enter the final of the Men’s Hockey competition at the Olympic Green Hockey Stadium on Thursday, August 21. They will play Germany for gold on August 23.

Australia, gold medalists at the 2004 Athens Games, led 2-0 on goals by Des Abbott (1st minute) and Eddie Ockenden (37th), but Spain struck twice through Eduard Tubau (39th, 44th) to level the score. Two minutes from the end of the match, Santiago Freixa scored the match-winner from a penalty corner.

Spain made the gold medal match at the 1980 Moscow Games and the 1996 Atlanta Games, losing to India and the Netherlands, respectively.

Australia had their chances to build on the 2-0 lead, but on this day, the Spanish defense was lucky and alert to avoid further damage.

In the end, Spain’s highly gifted and explosive forwards, Tubau and Freixa made all the difference as the two, along with Pol Amat, repeatedly harried the Australian defenders who were guilty of lapses in concentration and also gave way under ceaseless pressure.

Abbott gave Australia the perfect start when he deflected a Travis Brooks cross from the right before Spain closed ranks to deny further success. Immediately on restart, Ockenden put home an Abbott pass after Mark Knowles set it all up inside the circle.

But Spain kept their composure to equalize as Tubau flicked home a rebound from goal-mouth scramble and then scored off a David Alegre pass.

Three minutes from close, defender David Guest of Australia brought down Abros leading to two penalty corners, the second of which Freixa converted to give Spain a 3-2 decision.

Updated: 2008-08-21 21:40:41

(BEIJING, August 21) — Goalkeeper Max Weinhold was hero of Germany’s tie-break win over the Netherlands in the first semifinal of the Men’s Hockey competition at the Olympic Green Hockey Stadium on Thursday, August 21. Weinhold’s save in the sudden death tie-breaker gave Germany their first shot at the Gold medal in 16 years and their first Olympic Games Hockey win over the Dutch since Tokyo 1964.

The teams ended regulation tied 1-1 and, with the 15 minutes of extra time failing to break the deadlock, the tie-breaker was enforced. The teams each converted three of the five strokes in the tie-breaker as the match spilled into the sudden-death period.

Christopher Zeller converted to give Germany a 4-3 lead. Taeke Taekema’s shot then went off Weinhold’s gloves.

Earlier in the game, Timme Hoyng put the Netherlands in front with a 66th minute goal from a penalty corner, but Germany equalized as Philip Zeller swept home from close in the 68th. The match produced few moments of excitement as both teams deployed tight defenses and close marking.

The two goalkeepers, Weinhold and Guus Vogels of Netherlands, were in top form, making several saves to keep the scoreboard blank until the last five minutes.