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Saturday, September 30
Netherlands wins on penalty strokes
Associated Press
SYDNEY, Australia -- The Netherlands retained the Olympic
men's field hockey title Saturday, defeating first-time finalist
South Korea 8-7 in a clash decided on penalty strokes. Netherlands prevailed 5-4 in the tiebreaker, required to break
the deadlock for the first time in Olympic hockey's history, after
the two teams were tied 3-3 during the regulation and extra time
periods. The Dutch became the first team in four decades to retain the
men's Olympic crown since India's six-gold sequence finished after
the 1956 Games in Melbourne. The title clash was played to the wire, with the South Koreans
scoring two goals in the last four minutes to take the match into
extra period after Dutch skipper Stefan Veen's hattrick appeared to
have clinched the game for the Netherlands. The title win marked a thrilling climax for the Dutch, who were
on the brink of elimination from the preliminary phase until
Britain's shock win over Germany allowed them to sneak into the
semifinals on basis of a superior goal differential. Earlier in the day, Australia rode on Troy Elder's hattrick to
beat three-time champion Pakistan 6-3 in the bronze medal game.
Australia also finished third at the Atlanta Games.
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