Day 2 (Evening): A magnificent attacking display from Australia’s Kookaburras was the highlight of a remarkable evening session at the Oi Hockey Stadium, with Argentina, Spain and Netherlands also claiming important wins as the search for a place in the competition quarter-finals continued.
Men’s Pool A
India 1-7 Australia
Australia’s Kookaburras produced a devastating display of attacking hockey to overwhelm India 7-1 and put themselves two points clear at the top of Pool A after two rounds of matches. The early exchanges were relatively even, but everything changed when Daniel Beale netted in the 10th minute. Strikes from Jeremy Hayward, Flynn Ogilvie and Joshua Beltz established a 4-0 lead at half time as Australia hit top gear. India made a strong start to the second half and pulled a goal back through Dilpreet Singh, but a Blake Govers double killed off any hope of a fightback before Tim Brand completed the scoring with a stylish finish nine minutes from time.
“When you score seven goals you’ve got to be pretty happy with it”, said Australia’s Beale. “I think we’re just more happy with putting four quarters together. Yesterday [against Japan] we had a second-quarter lapse, so today to get ahead and then I think we made a pretty good save on the line at 1-0 up, and then from that momentum we can put seven on which you’re never going to be unhappy with.”
India captain Manpreet Singh said: “It’s a really good team, Australia is No.1 in the world. We expected that from this team, but we need to work on our man-marking behind because it was too easy for them to score a goal.”
Match information and statistics can be found on Olympics.com by clicking here.
Japan 1-2 Argentina
Reigning Olympic champions Argentina remain unbeaten in Pool B, having added three points from today’s 2-1 win over hosts Japan to the one they claimed against Spain on Saturday. Los Leones ended the day sitting second in the pool after their triumph over the Samurais. Argentina took the lead in the fifth minute through Jose Tolini’s penalty corner before Nicolas Keenan doubled the advantage in the second quarter. Japan put the Rio 2016 gold medallists under serious pressure at times, but Kenta Tanaka’s excellent 60th minute field goal came too late to change the outcome of this contest.
“I was able to show my heart that I will not give up even if it was the end of the game”, said Tanaka. “However, we needed to score the goal a little earlier.”
Match information and statistics can be found on Olympics.com by clicking here.
Spain 3-4 New Zealand
New Zealand moved up to third in the Pool A standings thanks to victory over Spain, fighting back from 3-2 down in the final quarter to win a pulsating fixture 4-3. The Black Sticks twice held the lead in the early stages, with Stephen Jenness and Blair Tarrant goals being cancelled out by Enrique Gonzales and Pau Quemada. Marc Bolto put the Red Sticks in the lead late in the third quarter, but Kane Russell’s penalty corner and a poacher’s goal from Jake Smith earned a fine three points for the New Zealanders. Spain’s Ricardo Sanchez made his 100th appearance for his country in the contest.
When asked how he felt about his team winning the match late on, Kane Russell said: “Pretty ecstatic. It was a funny game. There was a lot of swings and momentum. New Zealand and Spain are always tough games so it’s a big relief.”
Match information and statistics can be found on Olympics.com by clicking here.
Men’s Pool B
South Africa 3-5 Netherlands
European champions the Netherlands avoided what could have been the shock result of the tournament against South Africa, fighting back from 3-0 down to beat the African champions 5-3 in an absorbing Pool B encounter. The fired-up South Africans opened up a sensational 3-0 lead inside 18 minutes, with Dayaan Cassiam, Mustaphaa Cassiam and Tevan Kok all netting brilliantly against the bewildered Dutchmen. A backhand rocket from Mirco Pruijser and a poacher’s goal from Thijs van Dam give the Dutch hope ahead of half time, with Thierry Brinkman levelling matters six minutes after the break. Goals from Mink van der Weerden and a second for Pruijser, brilliantly assisted by Brinkman, sealed all three points for the Netherlands, who finish the day sitting fourth in the pool.
Match information and statistics can be found on Olympics.com by clicking here.
Day 2 (Morning): The women of Germany, New Zealand, Australia and China all claimed significant victories in the morning session of Day 2 at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
Women’s Pool A
Great Britain 1-2 Germany
Great Britain’s women started their Olympic title defence with a loss as Germany came away with a 2-1 win and all three points in their Pool A clash. Die Danas fell behind when Sarah Jones netted a close-range penalty corner in an opening quarter dominated by the Rio 2016 gold medallists. However, Germany restored parity in the second period thanks to Viktoria Huse’s penalty stroke. Charlotte Stapenhorst scored what proved to be the winning goal early in the third period, firing home from five metres out after being perfectly supplied by Pia Maertins. With just one goal from 11 penalty corner chances, GB will reflect on missed scoring opportunities ahead of their meeting with South Africa on Monday, with Germany taking on India later that day.
Commenting on winning their opening game, Germany’s Stapenhorst said: “It’s awesome. I love it. I love the feeling. It was a tough first 15 minutes. Everyone was a little nervous and you’ve seen some girls obviously playing in their first Olympics. There was a really, really intense feeling on the pitch, but then we started playing hockey and we started connecting.”
GB captain Hollie Pearne-Webb said: “We’re going to go back tonight, look at the stats and I think that’ll show that it was a really dominant performance. Which in one way is really disappointing because on the balance of play I think the three points should have been ours. However, also really disappointing because we didn’t make sure it was three points. I think the difference was just in both circles.”
Match information and statistics can be found on Olympics.com by clicking here.
Women’s Pool B
Australia 3-1 Spain
Triple Olympic gold medallists Australia overcame a stern challenge from Spain to take all three points, beating the Red Sticks 3-1. An evenly contested match burst into life in the third quarter, with the Hockeyroos scoring quickfire open play goals from Rosie Malone and Emily Chalker. Spain hit back almost immediately when Beatriz Perez netted, but the Australians re-established their two goal cushion thanks to Grace Stewart’s penalty corner conversion. It was a very solid start for Australia, who are looking for their first Olympic podium finish since winning gold at Sydney 2000.
Speaking after the match, Australia’s Chalker said: “[It was] a bit of a nervous start but to be able to put three goals in your first Olympic game we’ve been training so hard for, is going to give everyone a bit of confidence, settle the nerves and then we’ll go full steam ahead from here.”
Match information and statistics can be found on Olympics.com by clicking here.
Japan 3-4 China
Beijing 2008 Olympic silver medallists China claimed a superb victory over hosts and Asian continental champions Japan, triumphing 4-3 in their Pool B encounter. China were rampant in the early stages and opened up a deserved 2-0 advantage thanks to goals from Gu Bingfeng and Zhang Ying. The Cherry Blossoms stepped their game up considerably after conceding, with strikes from Kana Nomura and Yuri Nagai levelling the scores. A second goal for China’s Gu and Hazuki Nagai took the score to 3-3 before Liang Meiyu scored a brilliant winner, evading three tackles before producing a diving backhand finish to seal all three points for China.
Match information and statistics can be found on Olympics.com by clicking here.
New Zealand 3-0 Argentina
New Zealand stormed to a 3-0 victory over higher-ranked Argentina in their opening match of Tokyo 2020. The Black Sticks were clinical against Las Leonas, deservedly earning all three points in this Pool B encounter by scoring three times from five attempts on target. Kelsey Smith put New Zealand ahead in the 35th minute before Hope Ralph’s penalty corner deflection doubled the advantage five minutes later. The result was put beyond all doubt when Holly Pearson’s squeeze-shot on the turn flew past diving Argentina goalkeeper Belen Succi with seven minutes remaining, earning the Black Sticks a significant win in these very early stages of the competition.
Match information and statistics can be found on Olympics.com by clicking here.
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 feature 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.
Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 – Hockey competitions
25 July 2021 – Day 2
Results
Women’s Pool A
Great Britain 1-2 Germany
Women’s Pool B
Australia 3-1 Spain
Japan 3-4 China
New Zealand 3-0 Argentina
Men’s Pool A
India 1-7 Australia
Japan 1-2 Argentina
Spain 3-4 New Zealand
Men’s Pool B
South Africa 3-5 Netherlands
Pool standings overviews
Men: click here.
Women: click here.
The Tokyo 2020 Hockey action continues on Monday 26 July with a further eight matches; two in the men’s competition and six in the women’s tournament. In men’s Pool B, European heavyweights Germany and Belgium take to the field before Great Britain go head-to-head with Canada. In Women’s Pool A the Netherlands face Ireland in a re-match of the 2018 FIH Women’s World Cup final, while South Africa face Great Britain and Germany meet India. In Women’s Pool B, Australia play China, Japan takes on New Zealand and Argentina face Spain.
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