COLOMBES, France (AP) — Oranje is gold again in women’s field hockey after the Netherlands pulled off a first-of-its-kind Olympic sweep. its title from Tokyo, rallying from an early deficit to beat China 2-1 in a shootout in the final at the on Friday night. The victory followed the a day earlier.
The Netherlands became the first country to sweep the field hockey medals at the Games since the women’s tournament was added in 1980. “We have both golds — that’s historic,” said Pien Sanders, who scored in the shootout nearly 24 hours after boyfriend Thijs van Dam won with the men’s team. “This means everything.
I think the pressure is the always really high for the Dutch team and that we are here with gold, it’s so beautiful.” Much like the men, the women did so surrounded by a sea of orange, with Dutch fans filling Yves-du-Manoir Stadium and making for a festive atmosphere. Also like the men, it did not happen easily.
The Netherlands fell behind 5:54 in when a defensive lapse in front allowed Chen Yi to redirect Dan Wen’s setup past goalkeeper Anne Veenendaal. After trailing for just six minutes all tournament until the final, the Dutch generated plenty of quality chances through three quarters, including Frederique Malta ringing one penalty corner shot off the left post and missing wide right on another. “It was a little bit nerve-wracking, actually,” Maria Verschoor said.
“Till the end I was like, ‘Oh my God, is it going to happen?’ All the ti.