Belgian men and Dutch women search for gold at the Tokyo Olympics

By Welcurwell

Rio Highlights:

Men: Argentina beat Belgium 4-2 in the final. In 2016 Germany chased down their third gold, but lost to Argentina in the semifinals. The Germans won the bronze and defeated the Netherlands in a penalty shootout.

Women: Great Britain wins first Olympic gold in hockey gold, beating the Netherlands in the final. The Netherlands tried to win its third gold. Germany defeated New Zealand to win the bronze.

Tokyo Expectations:

Men: Belgium, ranked second in 2016, won the world title in 2018 and ranked 2nd in the FIH world rankings. Australia, who lost in the quarterfinals in 2016, recently beat Belgium to finish 1st. The Netherlands and India are ranked 3rd and 4th respectively. India coach is former Australia coach Graham Reid.

Women: The Netherlands finished second in 2016 in search of fourth gold. The team is number one in the world and won the 2018 World Cup. Great Britain is back to defend its Olympic title. England, one of the three teams that make up the British team, are ranked 5th in the world.

See Athletes:

Men: Manpreet Singh of India is the 2019 FIH Men’s Hockey Player this year. India won gold in Tokyo in 1964, but has not won a medal in Moscow since 1980. Belgium has 2016 FIH player John-John Dohmann and 2017 and 2018 best player Arthur van Doran. Australian players Edward Okenten and Aran Jalewski are one of the best players in the world.

Women: Dutch Eva de Coyote has won the last two FIH Player Awards. The 32-year-old has won two gold and one silver. Dutchman Litvis Weldon was a player at the 2018 Women’s Hockey World Cup. New Zealand’s Stacy Michelson and Olivia Merry are elite players.

Gold Medal Moment: Men, Aug., 5; Girls, 6 Aug.