Belgium won their first Olympic men’s hockey title, beating Australia 3-2 during a penalty shootout after the ultimate finished during a 1-1 draw on Thursday.
The sides were locked during a close fight through much of the match, with Belgium forward Florent van Aubel giving the Red Lions the lead two minutes into the last half .
Australia equalised because of a goal by Tom Wickham, sending the match to the shootout, during which Belgian goalie Vincent Vanasch saved three attempts from the Kookaburras, including a retake from Jake Whetton following a video referral.
But Vanasch saved Whetton’s second try, winning Belgium the title.
“We were really focused then I did the work at the top ,” Vanasch told reporters. “I’m really happy. i feel all of the Belgian people are proud today of the Belgium national team.”
Belgium had to attend an additional year to enhance on their second-place performance in 2016.
“Standing on the most important stage on the most important podium for alittle hockey country as Belgium may be a crown on all the diligence ,” forward Thomas Briels said. “And tons of reference to all the teammates — we work so hard — and other people behind the scenes of hockey in Belgium.”
Australia, who won the silver , claimed their last Olympic title in 2004.
“It’s a troublesome thanks to lose the trophy ,” Australia’s goalie Andrew Charter said. “We didn’t want to travel to shootouts. We had the lion’s share [of the game] at the top . If you let it attend shootouts it are often a touch of a coin toss sometimes.”
INDIA END 41-YEAR DROUGHT
India took the bronze earlier on Thursday after an exciting 5-4 victory over Germany, giving the country its first Olympic medal within the sport since the 1980 Moscow Games.
India forward Simranjeet Singh scored twice, including the winner.
“It’s a dream come true,” Simranjeet said. “We’ve made 1.3 billion Indians proud by finishing on stage .”
The high-scoring match wasn’t easy for eight-time Olympic champions India. Germany took an early lead through a second-minute goal by Timur Oruz, and posed a threat to India within the half-moon .
After Simranjeet equalised with a backhand , Germany kept their cool, scoring twice to require a 3-1 lead within the second quarter.
But India pulled level late therein quarter because of goals by Hardik Singh and Harmanpreet Singh, making it 3-3 at halftime.
India took a 5-3 lead after Rupinder Pal Singh notched during a penalty stroke and Simranjeet scored the winner shortly into the last half .
Germany got one goal back and tried to force the equaliser, even removing their goalkeeper to usher in an additional outfield player but they might not beat India goalie Sreejesh Parattu Raveendran who made nine saves within the match.
‘DANCING’ WITH JOY
The celebrations started simultaneously in Tokyo and across India for the trophy that’s taken 41 years to forge.
For the foremost successful nation in Olympic hockey competition, the win ended decades of agonising over repeat failures since they won the last of their eight Olympic titles in Moscow.
India captain Manpreet Singh dedicated the medal to the country’s healthcare workers within the midst of the deadly coronavirus pandemic.
“As the entire team and as coaches, we might wish to dedicate this medal to our doctors and [health workers] who are sacrificed for us and saved numerous people’s lives there in India and everywhere during this world, he said. So we might wish to dedicate this medal to those warriors.”
Families of the Indian team danced within the streets in Punjab state, waving hockey sticks within the air after the win. Other fans waved the Indian flag as they rushed out of their houses. Ten of the 18-man squad come from Punjab.
“The whole nation is dancing,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi told captain Manpreet and coach Graham Reid during a celebratory call to the team. He hailed the win as “historic”.
