Monday, Mar 15, 2004
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Hockey
By S. Thyagarajan
Netherlands 2 -- Spain 1
MADRID, MARCH 13. In a pulsating contest embellished by elegance and controlled aggression and counter-attacks, the Netherlands triumphed in the pre-Olympic hockey competition on a cloudy evening from a peach of a golden goal by Ronald Brouwer. There could not have been a more fitting finale to the two-week-long tournament to spot the qualifiers for the Athens Olympics. The finalists were locked 1-1 at the end of regulation time. Despite being handicapped by the absence of two star players, Xavier Ribas and Eduard Tabau, the Spaniards smothered the pressure the Dutch fashioned for the major part of the first quarter. Goalkeeper Bernandino Ferreira was superb under the bar, and baulked the effortless shots of Ronald Brouwer and Teun di Nooijer. Prompted well by Delmee, the Dutch were all over. Progressively, however, Spain gained ascendancy. Pol Amat and Santi Freixa threaded many a foray, served well by veteran Juan Escarre. But before half-time Spain hoisted the lead from a splendidly orchestrated move involving Amat and Freixa with the latter bemusing Guus Vogels with a wristy drive. A yellow card suspension for Bram Lomans from the South African umpire, John Wright, reduced the Dutch strength in the defence. But goalkeeper Vogels and Taeke Takema kept the marauding Spaniards under check. It was Netherlands which procured the equaliser at this juncture through the versatile striker Teun di Nooijer. The match went into extra-time. In an enchanting solo effort from the mid-field, Ronald Brouwer beat defender after defender and capped his effort with a powerful backhander. Satinder Kumar was the other umpire, and this appointment to the final of such a prestigious competition should be reckoned as a marked recognition of an Indian umpire's competence. Final positions: 1. Netherlands, 2. Spain, 3. Pakistan, 4. India, 5. Great Britain, 6. New Zealand, 7. South Africa, 8. Belgium, 9. Poland, 10. Malaysia, 11. Canada, 12. Japan.
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