PARIS: Top-ranked Netherlands face world champions Germany in the men’s field hockey final at the Paris Olympics after recording contrasting wins in their respective semi-finals here on Tuesday.

Germany claimed a 3-2 win over India after Marco Miltkau scored the winner by lifting the ball over veteran goalkeeper P.R. Sreejesh with six minutes left on the clock.

Germany last reached the final at London 2012 when they claimed gold and will now play the Netherlands, who have not conceded a goal in their two knockout stage matches.

India, who are back in the bronze medal match — against Spain — after beating Germany in Tokyo for third place, will need to wait another four years to snap a gold medal drought since 1980.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Netherlands in their last-four match sealed a much more comfortable 4-0 win over Spain than in the pool stage when they had to fight back from two goals down.

The Dutch will play in their first Olympic final since London 2012 as they bid to end a 24-year gold medal drought.

Spain, who lost 5-3 to the Dutch in their Pool ‘A’ match, will get their first chance to compete for a medal since 2008 in the bronze medal match.

Netherlands’ defender Jip Janssen opened the scoring with a converted penalty stroke in the 12th minute after goalkeeper Luis Calzado kicked the legs out from under forward Tjep Hoedemakers while going for the ball.

Captain Thierry Brinkman got the second in the 20th after collecting a rebound off Spain defender Ignacio Rodriguez’s stick and blasting the ball into the net for his first goal of the Paris Games.

The scoring continued in the opening minutes of the third quarter as forward Thijs van Dam sank his shot with plenty of space in the circle after two Spain defenders collided trying to collect a deep pass by the Netherlands skipper.

In the 50th minute, forward Duco Telgenkamp scored the Dutch team’s fourth.

Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2024