Pretoria, Tshwane, South Africa: The Austrian men’s team rode an unbeaten run to retain their title in the tightest of finishes against the Netherlands on the final day of the sixth FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup, presented by SPAR, at the Heartfelt Arena in Pretoria on Saturday.
In the women’s final the Netherlands added a third title to their triumphs of 2007 and 2015 when they outclassed Austria 7-0.
In a men’s showdown which was full of thrust and counterthrust, the defending champions kept their crown through a penalty shootout after the teams were deadlocked at 4-4 following regulation time.
The closeness of the European powerhouses was further demonstrated in the shootout which went to sudden death, with the Austrians, ranked one in the world, taking it 3-2.
Throughout the game there was little to choose between the teams following a 2-2 score at the halftime break.
Although the Netherlands, who beat Austria in the 2015 final, took a 4-3 lead into the final quarter, the champions’ self-belief was evident as they clinically converted a penalty corner with four minutes remaining to ultimately force the shootout.
Coach Robin Rosch was delighted with the outcome after his team won all their matches during this week, also beating the Netherlands in their pool game. “I’m really proud of this team,” he said. “Their strength is that they believe in themselves, and they believe in their teamwork, which is so important in indoor hockey. “The Netherlands are a very strong side and so we had to go to the penalty shootout where you can get a bit lucky.”
He added that their belief extended to their pressure of managing a penalty shootout. “You don’t have to tell them anything – they know what to do and especially our goalkeeper, he is very strong in that situation.”
With the World Cup having been held outside of Europe for the first time, Rosch felt it had been a real success. “It has really been great to be here in South Africa and everyone has been so helpful,” he said. “They crowds have been wonderful with all the cheering and celebrating and it has been a great experience.”
For Netherlands women’s captain Donja Zwinkels it was the perfect end to her career after being involved in the two earlier wins by her country. The 33-year-old said it had been a major goal for her. “After winning those two titles and then we lost in 2018 to Germany, it was kind of my dream to win a final again,” she said.
“I was getting a bit older, so I thought do I continue; then it was delayed for another year. And then I heard it was in SA and I thought how cool it would be to end my career in South Africa. “This was the best tournament I ever saw in my whole life. It was amazing and this morning playing South Africa in front of all those fans was incredible.”
In that earlier action, the SPAR South Africa women’s team suffered a tough final day as they lost both their playoff matches.
After being outplayed by the formidable Netherlands team 6-1 in the semi-finals, the host nation was defeated 3-1 by the Czech Republic in the third-place playoff to nevertheless finish in a creditable fourth position.
Saturday’s results were:
Women
Final: Netherlands bt Austria 7-0
Semi-finals: Austria bt Czech Republic 1-0, Netherlands bt SA 6-1
3rd place: Czech Republic bt SA 3-1
9th place: United States bt Kazakhstan 5-1
11th place: New Zealand bt Namibia 4-3
Men
Final: Austria drew with Netherlands 3-3; Austria won 3-2 on penalties
Semi-finals: Austria bt Iran 8-3, Netherlands bt US 7-3
3rd place playoff: Iran drew with US 2-2; Iran won 3-2 on penalties.
9th place: Czech Republic bt Kazakhstan 5-2
11th place: Australia bt NZ 7-2
The tournament award winners were:
Best men’s junior player: Mustapha Cassiem (SA)
Best women’s junior player: Reese D’Ariano.(US)
Best men’s goalkeeper: Mateusz Szymczyk (Austria)
Best women’s goalkeeper: Barbora Chechakova (Czech Republic)
Men’s top goal-scorer: Michael Korper (Austria)
Women’s top goal-scorer: Donja Zwinkels (Netherlands)
Men’s player of the tournament: Fabian Unterkircher (Austria)
Women’s player of the tournament: Donja Zwinkels (Netherlands)
Ends.
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Austria men 1- The Austrian men’s indoor hockey team were crowned world champions on Saturday at 2023 FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup presented by SPAR at the Heartfelt Arena in Pretoria, South Africa. Austria, the defending Champions drew with Netherlands 3-3; Austria won 3-2 on penalties.
DSC02971- The Dutch women’s indoor hockey team were crowned world champions on Saturday at 2023 FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup presented by SPAR at the Heartfelt Arena in Pretoria, South Africa. Netherlands beat Austria 7-0 in the final.
Photo Credit: Reg Caldecott
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