20th June 2016, Brussels: Australia were crowned the Hero Hockey Champions Trophy 2016 champions following a shoot-out victory over India in the showpiece final at the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre in London last Friday.
Goalkeeper Tyler Lovell was the hero of the hour, conceding just once in the shoot-out to help the World champions to glory.
A pulsating game finished with the score locked at 0-0, although it had been packed full of drama. Australia’s Blake Govers missed a penalty stroke, while India were dominant in the third and fourth quarter before losing the shoot-out.
Following an official protest from India against a situation which occurred in the shoot-out, there was a delay in the official confirmation of the result. The protest – in relation to an unintentional foul that had lead to the shoot-out being retaken – was rejected by the Technical Delegate.
The FIH would like to express appreciation to the teams, media and fans for their patience and understanding of the need to follow due process in line with the competition regulations. The FIH would particularly like to thank the Indian team for graciously accepting the outcome, and congratulate Australia on claiming their 14th Champions Trophy title.
Earlier in the day, two European teams locked horns in the Bronze Medal game and it was Germany who edged past Great Britain to win the bronze medal thanks to a solitary strike from tournament top scorer Marco Miltkau. It was a sad ending for the well-supported hosts, who gave it everything but could not find a way past inspired goalkeeper Nico Jacobi.
In terms of the individual awards, 2 European’s took the honours with Germany’s Tobias Hauke being named as the best player in the competition, and Great Britain’s George Pinner taking the best goalkeeper award. India’s Harmanpreet Singh was named as the best junior player.
Final standings – Hero Hockey Champions Trophy 2016
1: Australia
2: India
3: Germany
4: Great Britain
5: Belgium
6: Korea
Source information: FIH.CH
Photograph: Germany take the Bronze Medal (FIH/Getty Images)