Rio 2016 Womenâs Hockey round-up : Netherlands and Great Britain reach final
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Defending champions Netherlands will play Great Britain in the womenâs hockey final at the Rio Games after both sides emerged victorious in their respective semi-finals on Wednesday. The Dutch team's dream of winning a gold medal remains very much alive after defeating Germany in a shoot-out.
Although the reigning Olympic and World champions will go into the final as favourites, they face a Great Britain team that is in the form of their lives. Team GB made it seven wins from seven matches at Rio 2016 to claim a 3-0 triumph over New Zealandâs Black Sticks and reach the Olympic final for the first time in their history.
The medal matches of the womenâs Olympic hockey competition take place on Friday 19th August, with Germany and New Zealand doing battle for bronze at 12:00 Brasilia Time (GMT / UTC -3). The gold medal match between the Netherlands and Great Britain will get underway at 17:00.Â
Germanyâs Die Danas (FIH Hero World Ranking: 9) took a shock lead against the Netherlands (WR: 1) in the first Semi-Final, with the 2004 Olympic champions moving ahead thanks to a first quarter penalty corner from Lisa SchĂŒtze. The title holders hit back in the second quarter through the ever-reliable Maartje Paumen, who netted a penalty corner in the 16th minute to level the scores at 1-1. Remarkably, that scoreline remained unchanged for the rest of the match, meaning that the contest would be decided by a shoot-out.
A nervy shoot-out competition saw only four of the ten takers convert their chances, locking the score at 2-2 and initiating âsudden deathâ. Following successful efforts from Germanyâs Janne MĂŒller-Wieland and Willemijn Bos of the Netherlands, the match was settled when Marie MĂ€vers was denied by Dutch shot-stopper Joyce Sombroek before Ellen Hoog scored to put Oranje on the verge of a historic third successive Olympic gold medal.Â
When asked whether she dreamed about playing for a third Olympic gold medal, Netherlands captain Maartje Paumen, a member of the winning squads from Beijing 2008 and London 2012, said: "Not dreaming, thinking. Training four years again for playing in the final again. We made it to the final now and the only thing we are here for is the gold medal. We have to play better than this game today."
Great Britain (WR: 7) sealed
New Zealand pressed hard for an
âIâm just really proud of the girlsâ, said Team GB captain Kate Richardson-Walsh, speaking to the BBC after the match. âWeâve done it in every single game of this tournament. Weâve stuck to
The Olympic hockey action continues on Thursday 18th August, with attention switching to the showpiece medal matches in the menâs competition. The Netherlands (WR: 2) and Germany (WR: 3), the
Rio 2016 Olympic Games Hockey (women) â Day 12Results
Semi-FinalsNetherlands 1, Germany 1 (4-3 SO); New Zealand 0, Great Britain 3.
Medal Matches ScheduleAll times BRT (GMT / UTC -3)
19 August 201612:00Â - Bronze - Germany v New Zealand17:00Â - Gold - The Netherlands v Great Britain
Report Courtesy: © FIH Media