6 August 2021 Day 14 (Evening): The Netherlands added the Olympic gold medal to their World, European and FIH Hockey Pro League titles thanks to a 3-1 victory over Argentina, bringing a wonderful Hockey competition at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 to a close.  The win gave the Oranje their fourth Olympic crown, with the 2020 gold medal being added to those collected at Los Angeles 1984, Beijing 2008 and London 2012. For team captain Eva de Goede and star attacker Lidewij Welten, it is a third Olympic gold medal and a fourth in total, with both players having been part of the triumphant campaigns in 2008 and 2012 as well as winning silver at Rio 2016.  It is a fitting reward for a Netherlands side that has been the dominant force of women’s international hockey for the past five years, with the team coached by Alyson Annan – herself a double Olympic hockey gold medallist with Australia – absolutely justifying their position as pre-competition favourites.  Argentina made life incredibly difficult for the Netherlands in the first period, although Caia van Maasakker came close to opening the scoring when her penalty corner drag-flick rattled the Argentine crossbar.  The third quarter was decisive, with the Oranje opening up a three-goal lead that would prove too great a mountain for Las Leonas to climb. Margot van Geffen’s superb penalty corner tip-in broke the deadlock in the 23rd minute, before van Maasakker scored two unstoppable penalty corner drag-flicks to put the Dutch into a commanding lead.  However, Argentina hit back almost immediately when Agustina Gorzelany’s powerful penalty corner drag-flick squeezed between the legs of Netherlands goalkeeper Josine Koning, giving the South American giants a lifeline going into the final 30 minutes.  Argentina battled hard in an attempt to claw back the situation but found clear goal-scoring opportunities few and far between thanks to the magnificent Dutch defensive line, which only conceded four times in their eight matches here in Tokyo. It was a deserved success for a team that is without question the best in the world, with Argentina having to settle for a third Olympic silver following their final defeats at Sydney 2000 and London 2012.  “It’s amazing – I’m a bit speechless, I’m sorry, I just can’t believe that we actually did it”, said Netherlands captain Eva de Goede after the match. “We worked so hard for it, just like every other team. My fourth Olympics, fourth time in the final, and to win my third gold medal is just something that you not even dare to dream of. “And I’m so happy that after five years ago when we won the silver medal that I can give this gold medal now to the team, to the girls who won the silver there. It’s just the best feeling ever.” When asked about how proud she was to captain this team, de Goede said: “It’s almost an easy job for me. It’s just great to play in a team that’s willing to do better every training, every time we see each other we invest so much time in each other. We are each other’s friends, we have each other’s backs, just can’t be better than this.  “You really see a team playing every single time you step on the pitch and that’s what I’m most proud of, and that’s why I actually started to play hockey because it was most fun to play in a team, and this is it for me.” Argentina captain Noel Barrionuevo said: “I’m feeling sad, but at the same time I’m also feeling happy because at the end we were able to reach an Olympic final, this is something amazing, and we were also able to take the silver home. It was a pretty close game. We were facing a very dynamic rival. They scored their goals very quickly, so we were not able to recover from that.” On how proud she is to win a silver medal for Argentina, Barrionuevo said: “I’m feeling proud, really proud. I’m very proud to represent Argentina here. I’m also proud of the team, and at the end right now I’m feeling like a privileged person.” More information about the match can be found by clicking here. Earlier in the day, Great Britain’s women secured their third successive Olympic medal by edging India 4-3 in a hugely entertaining bronze medal match. The London 2012 bronze and Rio 2016 gold medallists were given a huge test by the Indian team, fighting back from 3-2 down to win 4-3 thanks to strikes from captain Hollie Pearne-Webb and Grace Balsdon in a contest played in sweltering conditions.   It is Great Britain’s fourth Olympic medal, having also medalled at Barcelona 1992 with a 4-3 victory against Korea. It is also a first Olympic medal for Great Britain head coach Mark Hager, who took New Zealand’s women to the bronze medal games at both the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympics but suffered defeat on both occasions. It is a third Olympic medal for defender Laura Unsworth, who was also part of the London and Rio campaigns.  While defeat left India’s players and coaching staff clearly heartbroken, the team captained by Rani and coached by Sjoerd Marijne can leave Tokyo feeling incredibly proud of their achievement, matching their previous best Olympic finish of fourth, which came at Moscow 1980. More information about the match can be found by clicking here.   For all information about the hockey competitions at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, visit https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/olympic-games/en/results/hockey/olympic-schedule-and-results.htm. Make sure that you use #Tokyo2020, #Hockey, #StrongerTogether, #HockeyInvites @Tokyo2020 and @olympics on social media when showing your support for your nation. Be sure to follow FIH for all the latest updates as teams and fans get ready for the biggest show on earth – the Olympic Games. Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 – Hockey competitions 6 August 2021 – Day 14  Results Bronze – Great Britain 4-3 India Gold – Netherlands 3-1 Argentina Final Standings – Men Gold – Belgium Silver – Australia Bronze – India 4 – Germany 5 – Great Britain 6 – Netherlands 7 – Argentina 8 – Spain

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6 August 2021 Day 14 (Morning): Great Britain’s women secured their third successive Olympic medal by edging India 4-3 in a hugely entertaining bronze medal match at the Oi Hockey Stadium this morning.  The London 2012 bronze and Rio 2016 gold medallists were given a huge test by the Indian team, fighting back from 3-2 down to win 4-3 thanks to strikes from captain Hollie Pearne-Webb and Grace Balsdon in a contest played in sweltering conditions.   It is Great Britain’s fourth Olympic medal, having also medalled at Barcelona 1992 with a 4-3 victory against South Africa. It was also a first medal for Great Britain head coach Mark Hager, who took New Zealand’s women to the bronze medal games at both the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympics but suffering defeat on both occasions. It is a third Olympic medal for defender Laura Unsworth, who was also part of the London and Rio campaigns.  While defeat left India’s players and coaching staff clearly heartbroken, the team captained by Rani and coached by Sjoerd Marijne can leave Tokyo feeling incredibly proud of their achievement, matching their previous best Olympic finish of fourth, which came at Moscow 1980. Despite the on-field temperature reaching 43 degrees Celsius – a situation that lead to the implementation of not only extended quarter time breaks but also mid-quarter hydration breaks – the contest between the two teams was nothing short of thrilling.  Both teams had chances to score in a goal-less first quarter before a flurry of goals arrived in the second period, with Great Britain’s Ellie Rayer and Sarah Robertson – who struck a diving backhand into the goal via the left post – opening up a 2-0 lead.  Incredibly, India responded with three goals in just four minutes, as Gurjit Kaur bagged two penalty corners before Vandana Katariya scored from open play to leave Great Britain trailing at half time.  A captain’s goal from Hollie Pearne-Webb levelled the scores with a rare but high-quality strike from open play five minutes after half time, with the game’s decisive moment coming from the stick of Grace Balsdon early in the fourth quarter, sending a low penalty corner drag-flick between the legs of India goalkeeper Savita.  India fought until the very last second, but Great Britain’s defence – coupled with another excellent goalkeeping display from Maddie Hinch – held firm to seal the bronze medal.  “This is definitely up there”, said GB’s Laura Unsworth on winning her third Olympic medal. “This has probably been my most challenging cycle since I first started, so on a personal note this is probably the most special medal out of all three of them. It has been a tough five years and to come away with a bronze medal to top it all off is just what dreams are made of.” Talking about his message to his team after the defeat, India head coach Sjoerd Marijne said: “The first thing I said, like for me personal, first the emotion is about losing, yeah you want to win, but really first off that I feel proud. Pride. I’m proud of the girls, how they again showed their fight and skills. And normally when Indian woman team came 2-0 behind they always went 3-0, 4-0, and now they kept fighting. We came back in the match, we even were one up.  “And I said to the girls, ‘Listen, I can’t take away your tears. No words will help for that. We didn’t win the medal, but I think we achieved something bigger, and it’s inspiring a country and make the country proud.’ And I’ve shown many messages of people who were saying that, and I think the world have seen another Indian team, and I’m really proud of that.” More information about the match can be found by clicking here.   The women’s Hockey gold medal match begins at 19:00 and will see hot favourites the Netherlands taking on Argentina. The Dutch are now just one win away from being in possession of the World, European, FIH Hockey Pro League and Olympic titles. However, they are not expected to have everything their own way against Las Leonas. Fascinatingly, Argentina were the last team to beat the Netherlands, inflicting defeat on the Dutch during their FIH Hockey Pro League encounter in Buenos Aires in February 2020, with the Oranje claiming a 3-1 victory the following day.   The gold medal game will be umpired by Laurine Delforge (BEL) and Sarah Wilson (SCO), with Amber Church (NZL) and Kelly Hudson (NZL) the reserve umpire and video umpire respectively. The hockey competitions at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 take place from Saturday 24 July to Friday 6 August 2021. Both the men’s and women’s competitions featured 12 teams, split into two pools of six ahead of quarter-finals, semi-finals and medal matches. For more information about the hockey competitions at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, visit https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/olympic-games/en/results/hockey/olympic-schedule-and-results.htm. Make sure that you use #Tokyo2020, #Hockey, #StrongerTogether, #HockeyInvites @Tokyo2020 and @olympics on social media when showing your support for your nation. Be sure to follow FIH for all the latest updates as teams and fans get ready for the biggest show on earth – the Olympic Games. Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 – Hockey competitions 6 August 2021 – Day 14 (Morning) Result – Bronze medal match  Great Britain 4-3 India Upcoming fixtures All times Japan Standard Time (UTC/GMT+9) 6 August 2021 19:00 – Gold – Netherlands v Argentina Final Standings – Men Gold – Belgium Silver – Australia Bronze – India 4 – Germany 5 – Great Britain 6 – Netherlands 7 – Argentina 8 – Spain 9 – New Zealand 10 – South Africa 11 – Japan 12 – Canada Final Standings – Women Gold – Silver – Bronze – Great Britain 4 – India 5 – Australia 6 – Germany 7 – Spain 8 – New Zealand 9 – China 10 – Ireland 11 – Japan 12 – South Africa #Tokyo2020 #StrongerTogether  #HockeyInvites

5 August 2021 Tokyo 2020: India men beat Germany in thriller to claim first Olympic medal in 41 years Day 13 (Morning): India have claimed an Olympic medal for the first time since winning gold at Moscow 1980, beating Germany 5-4 in one of the most dramatic bronze medal matches in Olympic history. India fought back from 3-1 down to claim a sensational 5-4 victory over Die Honamas to seal their place on the podium this evening, with goals from Simranjeet Singh (2), Harmanpreet Singh, Rupinder Pal Singh and Hardik Singh denying Germany a medal at a fourth successive Olympic Games (Gold: Beijing 2008, London 2012, Bronze: Rio 2016). Timur Oruz put Germany into the lead just two minutes into the contest after India failed to clear their defensive lines before Simranjeet Singh levelled the scores early in the second quarter with a fierce backhand strike. Simranjeet’s effort was the first of five goals in the second quarter, with Germany dominating to open up a fully deserved 3-1 lead thanks to goals from Niklas Wellen and Benedikt Furk before India hit a quick-fire double through Hardik Singh and the exceptional Harmanpreet Singh to take the score to 3-3 at half time. India’s momentum was not interrupted by the half time break, with Rupinder Pal Singh scoring a penalty stroke before Simranjeet Singh chipped home a fifth to put the eight-times Olympic gold medallists into a commanding 5-3 lead going into the final quarter. Germany have proven time and time again that they never know when they are beaten, and set about the task of attempting a comeback with typical determination. They reduced the deficit 12 minutes from time when Lukas Windfeder slammed home a low penalty corner, setting up a dramatic climax to the contest. Die Honamas threw everything they had at their opponents, and were given one final chance to salvage the contest when they were awarded a penalty corner with just six seconds remaining. However, the drag-flick from the top of the circle was brilliantly saved by India goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, becoming the hero that sealed India’s bronze medal here at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. “That is something which I never felt in my life until today”, said Sreejesh after the match. “That’s a great feeling. I think I need to go back to my home to realise what it is actually. Just waiting for that. I just called my dad because he was the reason behind me being here and I just wanted to tell him that I achieved it.” India captain Manpreet Singh said: “I don’t know what to say right now. It was fantastic, the way we played today. I think we deserved this medal as we have worked so hard, and the last 15 months has been so difficult for us, being in Bangalore away from our families. From the whole team and the coaches we would like to dedicate this medal to our doctors and front-line warriors who have been checking us and saved so many people’s lives in India.” It was a heart-breaking finish to the contest for Germany and their legendary captain Tobias Hauke, with the double Olympic gold medallist unable to add a second bronze to that which he collected at Rio 2016 during the final match of his extraordinary playing career. More information about the match can be found by clicking here. The men’s Hockey gold medal match will be contested between the two highest ranked teams in the world, with Australia, Olympic champions at Athens 2004, set to face reigning World champions Belgium, silver medallists at Rio 2016, at 19:00 in a dream title match here at the magnificent Oi Hockey Stadium.  Marcin Grochal (POL) and Coen van Bunge (NED) will umpire the showpiece match, with German Montes de Oca (ARG) being reserve umpire and Benjamin Gontgen (GER) the video umpire. The hockey competitions at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 take place from Saturday 24 July to Friday 6 August 2021. Both the men’s and women’s competitions featured 12 teams, split into two pools of six ahead of quarter-finals, semi-finals and medal matches. For more information about the hockey competitions at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, visit https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/olympic-games/en/results/hockey/olympic-schedule-and-results.htm. Make sure that you use #Tokyo2020, #Hockey, #StrongerTogether, #HockeyInvites @Tokyo2020 and @olympics on social media when showing your support for your nation. Be sure to follow FIH for all the latest updates as teams and fans get ready for the biggest show on earth – the Olympic Games. Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 – Hockey competitions 5 August 2021 – Day 13 (Morning) Result – Bronze medal match  Germany 4-5 India Upcoming fixtures All times Japan Standard Time (UTC/GMT+9) 5 August 2021 (Evening) 19:00 – Gold – Australia v Belgium Women’s medal matches – 6 August 2021 10:30 – Bronze – Great Britain v India 19:00 – Gold – Netherlands v Argentina Final Standings – Men Gold – Silver – Bronze – India 4 – Germany 5 – Great Britain 6 – Netherlands 7 – Argentina 8 – Spain 9 – New Zealand 10 – South Africa 11 – Japan 12 – Canada Final Standings – Women Gold – Silver – Bronze – 4 – 5 – Australia 6 – Germany 7 – Spain 8 – New Zealand 9 – China 10 – Ireland 11 – Japan 12 – South Africa #Tokyo2020 #StrongerTogether  #HockeyInvites

AfHF AC Letter to South African Teams in Tokyo Japan final