Paris, France: The women’s hockey final at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 will be contested between reigning champions the Netherlands and China, with the Asian giants reaching their first Olympic final since Beijing 2008.
The Netherlands women – the reigning Olympic, World, European and FIH Hockey Pro League champions – proved simply too strong for semi-final opponents Argentina, claiming a 3-0 triumph over their fierce rivals to reach the Olympic final for the sixth successive Games.
China secured their place in the gold medal match thanks to a remarkable shoot-out win against Belgium in front of a raucous crowd at the Yves-du-Manoir Hockey Stadium.
The timings of the semi-finals can be found below, with a complete list of available fixtures and timings available here.
Women’s medal matches – Friday 9 August 2024 (all times CEST)
14:00 – Bronze: Argentina vs Belgium
20:00 – Gold: Netherlands vs China
More information on today’s matches can be found below, with additional details available here.
Netherlands 3-0 Argentina
In front of an enthusiastic sell-out crowd, the Netherlands were in irresistible form against Las Leonas, dominating their illustrious opponents with goals from Luna Fokke, Laura Nunnink and Yibbi Jansen.
The result means that the possibility of the Netherlands winning both hockey gold medals remains very much on, with the men playing their final, against Germany, tomorrow (8 August). For Tokyo 2020 silver medallists Argentina, the result means that they will play for bronze on Friday (9 August).
“If you saw me when we scored the goals, I think that kind of describes how I feel”, said Netherlands goalkeeper Anne Veenendaal, who passionately celebrated all three of the goals scored by her team. “I guess that’s all the energy coming out and I’m just so proud of the team. The two goals (from Fokke and Nunnink) were insane.”
Belgium 1-1 China (1-3 After shoot-out)
In a match filled with huge drama, China opened the scoring through Zou Meirong’s penalty corner, successfully defending their lead until the final two minutes when Emma Puvrez slapped home a fabulous leveller, sending the huge numbers of Belgian fans into raptures.
Capitalising on the momentum, the Red Panthers lead early in the shoot-out when goalkeeper Aisling D’Hooghe denied Chen Yang before Vanessa Blockmans produced an outrageous lob that clipped the crossbar on the way to establishing a 2-1 advantage. However, China showed incredible character to score their next three attempts, with goalkeeper Ye Jiao denying Ambre Ballenghien, Justine Rasir and Delphine-Daphne Marien to break Belgian hearts.
“This a very emotional moment”, said China’s Ou Zixia. “We have secured a medal but we are gunning for gold. I know that our opponents are extremely strong but that won’t stop us from dreaming of gold.”
Further information and statistics on all of today’s matches can be found here.
Notable figures attending the Olympic hockey at Yves-du-Manoir on Day 12 included International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, IOC Executive Director Christophe Dubi, IOC Director General Christophe De Kepper and IOC Member Pierre-Olivier Beckers-Vieujant.
On Thursday 8 August, the men’s gold, silver and bronze medallists will all be decided at the Yves-du-Manoir Hockey Stadium, with India playing Spain in the bronze medal match at 14:00 CEST before Germany and the Netherlands fight for gold at 19:00. A preview for these matches can be found here.
The hockey competitions at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 take place from Saturday 27 July to Friday 9 August. Both the men’s and women’s competitions feature 12 teams, split into two pools of six ahead of quarter-finals, semi-finals and medal matches. For more information about the hockey competitions at Paris 2024, visit Olympics.Hockey.
Olympic Games Paris 2024 – Hockey
7 August 2024 – Day 12
Results – Women’s Semi-Finals
Netherlands 3-0 Argentina
Belgium 1-1 China (2-3 After shoot-out)
Women’s medal matches – Friday 9 August 2024 (all times CEST)
14:00 – Bronze: Argentina vs Belgium
20:00 – Gold: Netherlands vs China
Final Standings
Men
Gold:
Silver:
Bronze:
4:
5: Belgium
6: Australia
7: Great Britain
8: Argentina
9: South Africa
10: Ireland
11: France
12: New Zealand
Women
Gold:
Silver:
Bronze:
4:
5: Australia
6: Germany
7: Spain
8: Great Britain
9: USA
10: Japan
11: South Africa
12: France
Pool standings overviews
Men: click here.
Women: click here.
–FIH release
