Olympics-Hockey: Belgium claims first gold

TOKYO – Belgium won their first Olympic men’s hockey title, beating Australia 3-2 in a penalty shootout after the final finished in a 1-1 draw.

The sides were locked in a close fight through much of the match, with Belgium forward Florent van Aubel giving the Red Lions the lead two minutes into the second half.

Australia equalised thanks to a goal by Tom Wickham, sending the match to the shootout, in which Belgian goalie Vincent Vanasch saved three attempts from the Kookaburras, including a retake from Jake Whetton following a video referral.

But Vanasch saved Whetton’s second try, winning Belgium the title. “We were really focused and then I did the job at the end,” Vanasch said according to Reuters.

“I’m really happy. I think all of the Belgian people are proud today of the Belgium national team.”

Australia, who won the silver medal, claimed their last Olympic title in 2004.

“It’s a tough way to lose the gold medal,” Australia’s goalie Andrew Charter said.

“We didn’t want to go to shootouts. We had the lion’s share (of the game) at the end. If you let it go to shootouts it can be a bit of a coin toss sometimes.”

India took the bronze after a thrilling 5-4 victory over Germany, giving the country its first Olympic medal in the sport since the 1980 Moscow Games.

India forward Simranjeet Singh scored twice, including the winner.

“It’s a dream come true,” Simranjeet said. “We’ve made 1.3 billion Indians proud by finishing on the podium.”

The high-scoring match was not easy for eight-time Olympic champions India. Germany took an early lead through a second-minute goal by Timur Oruz, and posed a threat to India in the first quarter.

After Simranjeet equalised with a backhand shot, Germany kept their cool, scoring twice to take a 3-1 lead in the second quarter.

But India pulled level late in that quarter thanks to goals by Hardik Singh and Harmanpreet Singh, making it 3-3 at halftime.

India took a 5-3 lead after Rupinder Pal Singh notched in a penalty stroke and Simranjeet scored the winner not long into the second half.

Germany got one goal back and tried to force the equaliser, even taking out their goalkeeper to bring in an extra outfield player but they could not beat India goalie Sreejesh Parattu Raveendran who made nine saves in the match.