Hockey, Men

Nations were divided into two round-robin pools of six teams each, with the top four in each pool advancing to the quarter-finals. The tournament then proceeded on a single-elimination basis.

Belgium was the reigning Olympic champions but were anticipated to have strong competition from the Netherlands (2023 European Champions and 2022/23 FIH Pro-Hockey League winners), Germany (2023 World Cup winners), and Australia (2023/24 FIH Pro-Hockey League winners). Ireland qualified for the first time as an independent nation. In 1908, their only previous appearance, they competed under the flag of Great Britain. In addition, the host nation France were making their first appearance since 1972.

Prior to the start of the tournament, an unusual act of dedication was observed. The Australian hockey player Matt Dawson, due to take part in his third Olympics, broke a finger on his right hand during team training about two weeks before the Games started. Informed that, as the finger would require surgery and some time to recover, he would miss the Games with the injury. However, he was also informed that if the finger was amputated above the knuckle he would be fit enough to play, so he made the decision to have part of his finger amputated and was in the starting line-up in Australia’s first match against Argentina some 16 days after the accident.

From Pool A, Germany, the Netherlands, Great Britain, and Spain were the qualifiers for the quarter-finals, all teams having qualified after four matches. No team went undefeated in pool matches. Similarly, Belgium, India, Australia, and Argentina were early qualifiers from Pool B, the most notable match for Belgium being a 6-2 victory over Australia in a repeat of the 2020 final, Tom Boon (BEL) scoring three of the goals, and Belgium being the only undefeated team from the pool matches. Of note was Ireland’s victory over New Zealand by 2-1, so their trip to the Olympics gave them something to build on for the future.

The first of the quarter-finals was a close match between India and Great Britain. India were to score first through Harmanpreet Singh only for Britain to equalize a few minutes later through Lee Morton. Despite India having Amit Rohidas sent off in the second quarter, the British could not capitalize. With no further scoring in the match, a penalty shoot-out was required, which India won 4-2.

The second quarter-final was close, Spain taking the lead through José María Basterra in the third quarter, with an almost immediate reply by Belgium’s Arthur De Sloover. With five minutes remaining, Spain were to score two quick goals through Marc Reyné and Marc Miralles. Belgium replied with a late penalty corner goal from Alexander Hendrickx, but it wasn’t enough to avoid a 3-2 defeat and bring to an end Belgium’s reign as Olympic champions.

In the third quarter-final, the Netherlands frustrated Australia, scoring through Duco Telgenkamp in the third quarter, followed up by a solo goal by Thijs van Dam eight minutes from time for a 2-0 win.

The last quarter-final was a close encounter between Germany and Argentina. Teo Hinrichs opened the scoring for Germany, only for Argentina to equalize two minutes later through a Maico Casella goal from a penalty corner. A Gonzalo Peillat goal from a penalty corner restored Germany’s lead in the second quarter. In a tense final quarter, Agustín Mazzilli equalized for a second time, only for Justus Weigand to score the winning goal for Germany a few minutes later.

With goals from Jip Janssen, Thierry Brinkman, Thijs van Dam, and Duco Telgenkamp, the Netherlands had a comfortable 4-0 victory against Spain in the first semi-final, in a match where the Dutch were always in control.

The second semi-final was a much more interesting match for the neutrals. India dominated the first quarter and went ahead with a goal from Harmanpreet Singh. Germany came back strongly in the second quarter and, from a penalty corner, equalized through Gonzalo Peillat, then went ahead when Christopher Rühr fired home a penalty stroke. India came back in the third quarter to equalize through a Sukhjeet Singh goal from a penalty corner. But Germany were not finished when, six minutes from time, Marco Miltkau scored the winning goal to set up an all-European final.

The bronze medal match was one where all the goals were scored from penalty corners. Marc Miralles opened the scoring for Belgium only for Harmanpreet Singh to equalize at the end of the second period. A further goal from Singh early in the third period saw India take a 2-1 lead, and, despite some sustained Spanish pressure towards the end, this remained the final score, so India equaled their bronze medal achievement from 2020.

The final was a tense affair, with goals coming in the final quarter. Thierry Brinkman opened the scoring for the Netherlands, only for Thies Prinz to equalize from a penalty corner four minutes later, and that is how the match finished, requiring a penalty-shoot out for the second consecutive Olympic men’s hockey final. This time, it was the Netherlands who came out the winners 3-1 in the shoot-out. The match ended on an unsporting note when the Dutch player Duco Telgenkamp appeared to mock the German goalkeeper Jean Danneberg after winning the shoot-out, causing a reaction amongst some of the German players. Nevertheless, this was the first victory of the Netherlands in this event since 2000, with coach Jeroen Delmée being the first to win the Olympic men’s hockey both as a coach and a player.