Under the watchful eyes of the IOC President Thomas Bach, the first Hockey5s Youth Olympic tournament ended today with Australia men claiming the top of the podium in another thrilling final that could only be decided in a shoot-out.
After an early goal from Alec Rasmussen, Australia were a step ahead for most of the match, until Canada’s Amrit Sidhu managed to hit the net twice in the last three minutes of the match, with the equalizer coming only seconds before the final whistle.
In the one-on-one challenges, Australian goalkeeper Max Hughes denied the third Canadian representative, while the Australian strikers were flawless, and the large Australian contingent erupted in cheers as Corey Weyer scored the final goal.
Spain and South Africa had taken to the pitch to decide over the bronze medal. The Spanish men stormed ahead early, taking a two-goal lead in the first period, and never looked back from there, never letting their opponents get closer than that two goal advantage.
Prior to the bronze medal match, Pakistan and New Zealand had fought an intense battle for fifth place, with the Greenshirts claiming the win with a lone last period goal.
In the 7th place play-off, Zambia overpowered Mexico.
Results
Men
7/8th place: Zambia – Mexico 7:4 (2:1; 5:2)
5/6th place: Pakistan – New Zealand 4:3 (0:1; 3:3)
3rd/4th place: Spain – South Africa 7:4 (2:0; 5:3)
Final: Canada – Australia 3:3 (0:1; 1:2) – Challenge Shoot-out 2:3
Final Ranking
Men
1. Australia
2. Canada
3. Spain
4. South Africa
5. Pakistan
6. New Zealand
7. Zambia
8. Mexico
9. Germany
10. Bangladesh
Source: FIH.CH
Pictured: The Spanish boys!
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