Tokyo 2020 (Men’s Quarter-Finals, Day-9: 1 August 2021): Belgium & India complete men’s final four; Germany & Australia triumph to set up Olympic semi-final meeting

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Day 9 (Evening): Belgium and India joined Germany and Australia in the semi-finals of the men’s Hockey competition at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 after winning their respective quarter-final matches on Sunday evening to establish two mouth-watering clashes in the final four.

Pool B winners Belgium were given a huge scare by a Spanish team that finished fourth in Pool A but were magnificent this evening, holding a 1-0 lead before the reigning world champions and Rio 2016 silver medallists fought back to claim a 3-1 win. Tournament top scorer Alexander Hendrickx scored twice to take his personal tally at these Olympics to 11 goals in six games, moving him five goals clear of nearest rival, Blake Govers of Australia.

Belgium’s semi-final opponents will be India, who defeated Great Britain 3-1 to reach the semi-finals for the first time since winning the last of their eight Olympic gold medals way back at Moscow 1980.

The other semi-final will see Australia taking on Germany after their respective quarter-final victories over the Netherlands and Argentina earlier in the day.  Interestingly, the teams placed one to four in the FIH World Rankings have all made it through to the semi-finals – Australia (1), Belgium (2), India (3) and Germany (4).

The timings for the men’s semi-finals, which take place on Tuesday 3rd August, are as follows. All times are Japan Standard Time (GMT / UTC +9).

Men’s semi-finals – 3 August 2021
10:30 – India v Belgium
19:00 – Australia v Germany

More information about this evening’s semi-finals can be found below.

Quarter-finals

Belgium 3-1 Spain
A fourth place finish in Pool A did not stop Spain’s Red Sticks from giving Pool B winners Belgium their toughest match of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. However, it was the Red Lions – the reigning world and FIH Hockey Pro League champions – who came away with a victory to keep their gold medal dream alive.

Spain took the lead in fortuitous fashion, with David Alegre’s attempted pass from the left being diverted into the goal via a Belgian stick, giving sensational Red Lions goalkeeper Vincent Vanasch – who made numerous world class saves on the occasion of his 250th match – little chance of saving.

While there was more than an element of luck in the goal, there can be little argument that their all-round performance in the opening two quarters was at least on par with the brilliant Belgians, who were given a stern test by their rivals from Europe.

However, everything changed in the third quarter, with competition top scorer Alexander Hendrickx having a big say in the outcome of the contest. Hendrickx – playing with a head bandage to protect stitches as well a heavily strapped shoulder – tied the scores with a 38th minute penalty corner before making an important contribution to his team’s second goal, forcing a fine penalty corner save from Spain goalkeeper Quico Cortes, who then denied Sebastien Dockier’s follow-up before Tom Boon smashed the loose ball into the roof of the goal.

 

Hendrickx scored his 11th goal of the tournament three minutes from time, sending a penalty corner bullet inside the left post to ensure Belgium’s safe passage through to the final four.

“Spain came out in a really good way”, said Belgium’s Loick Luypaert. “We struggled a little bit in the first half to get a real few chances. But I think we’ve played a really, really good tournament and we played a mature game in the end. A couple of difficult moments in the end but happy to win it.”

Spain’s Alvaro Iglesias said: “We knew it was going to be tough. We knew we had to defend really hard and counter-attack. I thought we had chances, but their keeper was great. It was a pity we did not score more goals. We deserved better.”

Match information and statistics can be found on Olympics.com by clicking here.

India 3-1 Great Britain 

India’s dream of winning a first Olympic gold medal for 40 years moved a step closer to reality in the final match of the day, battling to a quarter-final win against Great Britain.

India opened up a two-goal lead in the contest through superbly taken field goals from Dilpreet Singh and Gurjant Singh, with Great Britain guilty of some sloppy defending on both occasions to trail 2-0 going into half time.

 

Great Britain were the better team in the third quarter but found a breakthrough hard to come by, as India successfully defended a string of penalty corners. The pressure eventually told with the final play of the period, with Sam Ward somehow squeezing a penalty corner flick into the goal despite slipping at the vital moment.

 

Ward’s strike gave Great Britain a huge boost in confidence, with the team proceeding to dominate the majority of the fourth quarter. Their cause was enhanced further when India captain Manpreet Singh received a yellow card five-minute suspension. However, a rapid India break-away proved to be the killer blow, with Hardik Singh firing into the bottom right corner to seal India’s first Olympic semi-final berth since winning gold at Moscow 1980.

 

“We are so happy because after a long time we are reaching a semi-final”, said India skipper Manpreet Singh. “Still, the business hasn’t finished yet. Still we have two more games so we need to focus, we need to have our feet on the ground and we need to focus on the next match.”

Great Britain’s Sam Ward said: “I think anytime any game that knocks you out of the Olympic Games will sting you pretty hard. We had a lot of chances we did not take. There is one thing turning up an Olympic Games and another to win a medal, and that is what we came for and is pretty gut-wrenching to be knocked out.”

Match information and statistics can be found on Olympics.com by clicking here.

Day 9 (Morning): Germany and Australia will meet in the semi-finals of the men’s Hockey competition at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 after winning their respective quarter-finals on a thrilling morning at the Oi Hockey Stadium.

Pool B runners up Germany booked their fifth successive Olympic semi-final appearance with a fine win over Rio 2016 gold medallists Argentina, with exquisite penalty corner goals from Lukas Windfeder (2) and Timm Herzbruch proving to be enough as Die Honamas continue their quest for a fifth Olympic title in men’s hockey.

Germany’s opponents in the semi-finals – which will be played on Tuesday 3rd August (time TBC) – will be Pool A winners Australia, who were pushed all the way by the Netherlands, who finished fourth in Pool B, before winning a shoot-out in a dramatic second semi-final.

The two remaining men’s quarter-finals – Belgium versus Spain and India versus Great Britain – will take place this evening. More information about this morning’s semi-finals can be found below.

Quarter-finals

Germany 3-1 Argentina
Argentina’s hopes of defending the Olympic title that they so brilliantly won at Rio 2016 was ended thanks to a clinical performance from Germany, who moved into the semis and continue their hunt for a 12th men’s hockey medal in Olympic competition.

Die Honamas scored three times from just four penalty corner opportunities, an intimidating conversion rate that will not go unnoticed by the respective coaches of the other teams that reach the final four.

Germany’s first penalty corner chance resulted in a re-award, with Lukas Windfeder making no mistake with his team’s second chance by rattling the backboard of the Argentina goal in the 19th minute.

The Rio 2016 bronze medallists extended their advantage in the third quarter when Timm Herzbruch deflected home a exceptionally worked routine, with a precise exchange of passes leaving Argentina’s defenders utterly bewildered and goalkeeper Juan Vivaldi – who made some incredible saves in this contest – no chance of saving.

Windfeder took the score to 3-0 with another ripping drag-flick twelve minutes from time before Argentina pulled a goal back thanks to Maico Casella’s penalty corner drag-flick. It proved to be only a consolation, with Germany deservedly taking a victory to book their quarter-final ticket.

“It was a really, really tough match today”, said Germany goal-scorer Timm Herzbruch. “The Argentinian team is a really aggressive and emotional team in the defence, and we played very good in our structure. In the end, it’s a 3-1 (win) and we’re very happy to play in the semis.”

Argentina goalkeeper Juan Vivaldi, 42, confirmed he was bringing down the curtain on his illustrious career, stating: “It was very emotional, my last game. I want to enjoy all of this. I have played a lot of years, matches and games so this is a moment to look back and enjoy all that.”

Match information and statistics can be found on Olympics.com by clicking here.

Australia 2-2 Netherlands (3-0 After Shoot-Out
Despite this being a meeting between the winner of Pool A and the team that finished fourth in Pool B, the undefeated Kookaburras were given a huge test by the Netherlands, who produced their best performance of the competition by far to push the Oceania giants all the way.

Australia took the lead when Tom Wickham forced home a close-range field goal after excellent work from Tim Brand, scoring 13 minutes into a first half in which the Netherlands had the most scoring opportunities but were thwarted by the brilliance of Kookaburras goalkeeper Andrew Charter.

The Oranje snatched a deserved equaliser early in the third period when Mink van der Weerden found a gap between Charter’s legs from a penalty corner. However, the Australians were soon back in front, with outstanding Brand and Wickham combining again for the latter to slap-shot into the Netherlands goal via the right post.

The Dutch again hit back thanks to a perfectly placed penalty stroke from Jeroen Hertzberger ten minutes from time after Mirco Pruijser’s goal-bound shot hit the body of an Australian defender, setting up a shoot-out for a place in the semi-finals.

It was the Australians who would emerge triumphant in the one-on-ones, with Charter producing goalkeeping heroics to deny Hertzberger, Robbert Kemperman and Jonas de Geus before rising superstar Brand sealed victory following converted efforts from Blake Govers and Flynn Ogilvie. It was a moment of redemption for Australia, who suffered a shoot-out defeat against the Netherlands in thre semi-finals of the Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2018.

“It feels absolutely amazing”, said 22-year-old Brand, who was born in the Netherlands but moved to Australia with his family when he was three years old. “To reach the semi-finals of an Olympics is always special. I don’t think it was our best game. We had to grind out that one. We’ve been practising shoot-outs for a long time, after the World Cup three years ago, so to get a win there was really good.”

Kookaburras goalkeeper Andrew Charter was also thrilled with the team’s victory. “It was amazing. We had a bit of disappointment at the World Cup a couple of years ago against Holland and to come out here and put on a performance, not our best, but we managed to get into the shoot-out and to win it is just euphoria. We’ve got to come back now and put it together in the semi.”

Match information and statistics can be found on Olympics.com by clicking here.

Monday 2nd August is women’s quarter-finals day at the Oi Hockey Stadium, with eight teams competing for the four semi-final spots. At 09:30 (JST), Germany (2nd Pool A) take on Argentina (3rd Pool B) before Australia (1st Pool B) play India (4th Pool A) at 12:00. The evening matches begin at 18:30 as reigning World, European and FIH Hockey Pro League champions the Netherlands (1st Pool A) face Oceania continental champions New Zealand (4th Pool B) before Spain (2nd Pool B) and Great Britain (3rd Pool A) go head-to-head at 21:00.

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.

Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 – Hockey competitions

1 August 2021 – Day 9

Results – men’s quarter-finals
Germany 3-1 Argentina
Australia 2-2 Netherlands (Australia win 3-0 After Shoot-Out)
Belgium 3-1 Spain
India 3-1 Great Britain

Upcoming fixtures
All times Japan Standard Time (GMT / UTC +9)

Monday 2 August – women’s quarter-finals
09:30 – Germany (2nd Pool A) v Argentina (3rd Pool B) – Match 3
12:00 – Australia (1st Pool B) v India (4th Pool A) – Match 4
18:30 – Netherlands (1st Pool A) v New Zealand (4th Pool B) – Match 1
21:00 – Spain (2nd Pool B) v Great Britain (3rd Pool A) – Match 2

Tuesday 3 August – men’s semi-finals
10:30 – India v Belgium
19:00 – Australia v Germany

Progression
The quarter-finals, in both the men’s and women’s competitions, will be as follows although the matches will not necessarily be played in this order:

1st Pool A v 4th Pool B – Match 1
2nd Pool B v 3rd Pool A – Match 2
2nd Pool A v 3rd Pool B – Match 3
1st Pool B v 4th Pool A – Match 4

The winners of these matches will play for 1st to 4th places. The semi-finals will be as follows although the matches will not necessarily be played in this order:

Winner Match 1 v Winner Match 2
Winner Match 3 v Winner Match 4

The winners of these matches will play for 1st and 2nd places (gold and silver medals) and the losers will play for 3rd and 4th places (bronze medal)

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