FINTRO Best Player Lidewij Welten sets up late winner for Ellen Hoog in victory over Korea
New Zealand defeat to Australia gifts Rio 2016 Olympic Games ticket to Argentina
India women take fifth to keep their Olympic qualification hopes alive
The Netherlands have won the FINTRO Hockey World League Semi-Final event in Antwerp, claiming a 2-1 win over Korea in the competition final. FINTRO Player of the Tournament Lidewij Welten set up the winner for 2014 FIH Player of the Year Ellen Hoog, who smashed home a late winner to give the Netherlands a hard earned win over the resilient and defensively brilliant Koreans.
It proved to be a fantastic tournament for the Netherlands, with the top ranked team in world hockey sealing a safe passage through to the Rio 2016 Olympics as well as two of their key players winning individual awards.
As well as Welten’s Best Player award, team-mate Xan de Waard was named HERO Best Young Player after a superbly consistent tournament. Australia’s Jodie Kenny took the Hero Top Scorer prize with 10 goals, while New Zealand shot-stopper Sally Rutherford was named FINTRO Best Goalkeeper.
Australia emerged victorious in the Oceania derby match to take third place ahead of New Zealand.
The result meant that the Black Sticks missed out on a top three placing and automatic qualification for the 2016 Olympic Games, although the Hockeyroos entered the match knowing that they had already booked their ticket to Rio regardless of the result.
With Korea having already achieved Olympic qualification by virtue of winning the Asian Continental Championship last year, a top three finish in Belgium opened the door to the highest ranked of the fourth place finishers from the HWL Semi-Final events in Valencia and Antwerp.
Argentina finished fourth in Valencia and sit above the Black Sticks in the FIH world rankings, guaranteeing an Olympic berth for the Pan-American giants.
Earlier in the day, India increased their chances of landing a ticket to Rio by claiming a fifth place finish with victory over Japan, while Belgium’s Red Panthers ended their competition on a high by defeating Italy in the 7-8 play-off match.
To see an updated infographic explaining the qualification process for the women’s competition at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, click here.
To see an updated infographic explaining the qualification process for the women’s Hockey World League Finals, click here.
FINTRO Hockey World League Semi-Finals – Women
Final Standings
1. Netherlands
2. Korea
3. Australia
4. New Zealand
5. India
6. Japan
7. Belgium
8. Italy
9. Poland
10. France
1. Netherlands
2. Korea
3. Australia
4. New Zealand
5. India
6. Japan
7. Belgium
8. Italy
9. Poland
10. France
Event Awards
FINTRO Best Player Award: Lidewij Welten (NED)
HERO Best Young Player Award: Xan de Waard (NED)
FINTRO Best Goalkeeper Award: Sally Rutherford (NZL)
HERO Top Scorer: Jodie Kenny (AUS) – 10 goals
Fair Play Award: France
The final day of the men’s competition takes place on Sunday 5th July. As well as the big matches of the day, the 5-6 play-off between Malaysia and Ireland will also be fiercely contested as a fifth place finish would provide an increased chance of qualifying for Rio following the completion of the Continental Championships. Belgium, Australia, Great Britain and India have all confirmed that they will be at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
The running order for Sunday is as follows. All timings are Central European Summer Time (UTC/GMT +2):
7-8 play-off – 1030: Pakistan v France
5-6 play-off – 1300: Ireland v Malaysia
3-4 play-off – 1530: India v Great Britain
Final – 1800: Belgium v Australia
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