Double Dutch hockey gold: women defend title as Netherlands takes Paris sports titles

COLOMBES, France (AP) Orange is gold again in the women's field hockey after the Netherlands won the Olympic Games for the first time of its kind.

Netherlands defended the title from Tokyo, after turning an early deficit into a 2-1 victory over China in a shootout in the final at the Olympic Games in Paris on Friday evening.

The victory followed the Dutch men's team takes gold a day earlier. The Netherlands became the first country to win hockey medals at the Games since the women's tournament was added in 1980.

We both have gold, that's historic, said Pien Sanders, who scored in the shootout almost 24 hours after boyfriend Thijs van Dam won with the men's team. This means everything. I think the pressure is always very high for the Dutch team and that we are here with gold, that's so nice.

Just like the men, the women did so surrounded by a sea of ​​orange, with Dutch fans filling the Yves-du-Manoir Stadium and creating a festive atmosphere. It wasn't easy for the men either.

The Netherlands fell behind with 5:54 left when a defensive lapse allowed Chen Yi to send Dan Wen's attempt past goalkeeper Anne Veenendaal. After trailing by only six minutes throughout the tournament until the final, the Dutch created plenty of chances in three quarters, including Frederique Malta sending a penalty corner off the left post and another wide.

It was actually a bit nerve-wracking, Maria Verschoor said. Until the end I thought: Oh my God, is it going to happen? The whole time we were saying: Okay, it's coming. It's coming.

Yibbi Jansen equalized with 9:11 left in regulation time by scoring from a penalty corner, which led to cheering, flag waving and jumping in the stands. Sanders, Verschoor and Marijn Veen scored in the shootout, igniting what could be a celebration for the Dutch players and their fans.

We have all these parties, Verschoor said. I think we will have a lot of parties in the coming days.

Jansen finished as the tournament's top scorer with nine, but said: If it wasn't gold, it doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is that we win.

The second of two consecutive Olympic titles came with former coach Alyson Annan on the other side with China. Annan, an Australian who led the Netherlands to gold in Tokyo in 2021, abruptly resigned in early 2022 following an investigation by the Royal Dutch Hockey Association into team culture under her watch, following complaints from players.

Annan said China should be proud of the performance of its team, which entered the Olympics as underdogs and came within 10 minutes of winning the country's first hockey championship.

“We won Olympic silver and we were so close to gold,” Annan said, adding that she was not surprised by the run. “Six months ago, a year ago, two years ago, we didn't think we would be here.

The Netherlands have improved their record against China to 21-0 over the past decade, with 15 of the previous 20 wins coming by multiple goals.

It was a very close game, said coach Paul van Ass, whose son Seve won gold with the men's team. Well, we attacked and they defended. But because they scored so early, they had time to defend. And they defended very well.

Argentina won the bronze medal in women's hockey after beating Belgium in a penalty shootout. Argentina won their second consecutive medal, taking silver in Tokyo after losing to the Netherlands in the final.

It's crazy, said Argentine goalkeeper Cristina Cosentino. We are very happy. We came here to get medals and we couldn't go back empty-handed.

The Netherlands was the only country to win two hockey medals of any colour in Paris. Germany took silver and India bronze in the men's event.

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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games