A sprinkler inexplicably went off and delayed play for a couple of minutes. A dramatic shootout victory set off a wild celebration that was interrupted briefly when a scuffle almost broke out. The men's Olympic field hockey final had a little bit of everything.
And now the Netherlands has gold for the first time in more than two decades. Duco Telgenkamp scored the golden goal in the shootout to give the Dutch the title at the with a 2-1 victory over Germany. It's the Netherlands' first gold in men's hockey at the Olympics since 2000 and the third in the country’s history.
“That's what we've been building the last three years: We have a great group of guys, and when the hard work pays off, that's the most beautiful thing in life," said coach Jeroen Delmee, a part of all three championships after winning gold as a player in 1996 and 2000. “Winning the Olympic final, as a coach, it’s the most beautiful moment in my life.” Telgenkamp, after scoring, dropped his stick, pumped his chest and stared at Germany goaltender Jean Danneberg while running past him.
As Dutch players piled on one another in the corner to celebrate, Germany’s Niklas Wellen took exception and began shoving Telgenkamp, leading officials to separate the teams. Asked what happened, Telgenkamp said: “Nothing. We won gold.
Very happy. Emotions were high. That’s it.
” The tensions were much different from the confusion nearly an hour earlier when water began spraying the sideline and field 3:28 into.