Sports Bulletin Report
Pretoria (South Africa): After 80 matches and seven days of rousing action, Austria’s men successfully defended their world title while the Netherlands regained the women’s crown as the FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup came to a gripping end in Pretoria, South Africa.
Michael Körper got the defending champions off to a great start in the men’s final, putting his side ahead in the ninth minute. Less than a minute later the Dutch struck back, Max Sweering slotting one in off a penalty stroke for the equaliser just before the first break. But it didn’t take long for the Austrians to regain their lead, Körper once again adding his name to the scoresheet with a magnificent, lifted effort. The Dutch once again came back at them though, to level matters before halftime.
The Netherlands then led twice in the second half, but the prolific Körper completed his hattrick to once again draw level at 4-4, sending the title decider to a shootout, which the Austrians edged 3-2 for a memorable victory.
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While the Austrian men were crowned world champions for a second time, the women were seeking a first-ever world title when they also took on the Netherlands in their final. But the Dutch were in rampant mood in what turned into a completely one-sided match.
Mabel Brands scored a hattrick as the Dutch romped to a third world title with a 7-0 victory. With that, they also climbed to the top spot in the world rankings while Austria moved up from seventh to fourth.
In a first for a Hockey World Cup, both the men’s and women’s finals featured one male and one female umpire in each.
Meanwhile, the women’s third-place playoff saw hosts South Africa taking on the Czech Republic.
Having dropped from third at the 2015 World Cup to seventh in 2018, the Czechs were determined to make a return to the podium and they put in the ideal performance to do just that. Adela Lehovcova scored a brace and Anna Kolarova added another before the home side could breach the Austrian defence. Tegan Fourie’s consolation goal in the 26th minute was not enough to prevent the 1-3 loss for the South Africans, who nevertheless achieved their highest-ever World Cup finish with fourth place. Their unprecedented progress also saw them climbing up the world rankings from 12th place to sixth.
The men’s bronze medal match between Iran and the USA produced another fast-paced showdown which included several spectacular goals. It was all square on 4-4 by the final hooter after Aki Kaeppeler found the final equaliser in the 37th minute.
Results (men’s event):
New Zealand 2 – 7 Australia
Player of the match: Ben Staines (AUS)
Austria 8 – 3 Iran
Player of the match: Fabian Unterkircher (AUT)
Netherlands 7 – 3 USA
Player of the match: Nicki Leijs
Kazakhstan 2 – 5 Czech Republic
Player of the match: Lukas Plochy (CZE)
Iran 4 (3) – 4 (2) USA
Player of the match: Reza Norouzzadeh (IRI)
Austria 4 (3) – 4 (2) Netherlands
Player of the match: Michael Körper (AUT)
Results (women’s event):
Austria 1 – 0 Czech Republic
Player of the match: Marianne Pulter (AUT)
Netherlands 6 – 1 South Africa
Player of the match: Lieke van Wijk (NED)
South Africa 1 – 3 Czech Republic
Player of the match: Barbora Cechakova (CZE)
Netherlands 7 – 0 Austria
Player of the match: Mabel Brands (NED)
Final tournament standings (Women):
- Netherlands, 2. Austria, 3. Czech Republic, 4. South Africa, 5. Belgium, 6. Ukraine, 7. Australia, 8. Canada, 9. USA, 10. Kazakhstan, 11. New Zealand, 12. Namibia
Men’s Teams standings:
- Austria, 2. Netherlands, 3. Iran, 4. USA, 5. Belgium, 6. South Africa, 7. Argentina, 8. Namibia, 9. Czech Republic, 10. Kazakhstan, 11. Australia, 12. New Zealand
Individual Awards (women)
Best Player: Donja Zwinkels (NED)
Hero Top Scorer: Donja Zwinkels (NED)
Best Goalkeeper: Barbora Cechakova (CZE)
Best Junior Player: Reese D'ariano (USA)
Individual Awards (Men)
Best Player: Fabian Unterkircher (AUT)
Hero Top Scorer: Michael Körper (AUT)
Best Goalkeeper: Mateusz Szymczyk (AUT)
Best Junior Player: Mustaphaa Cassiem (RSA)
