The women's field hockey tournament at the 2020 Summer Olympics was the eleventh edition of the field hockey event for women at the Summer Olympic Games. It was held from 24 July to 6 August 2021. All games were played at the Oi Hockey Stadium in Tokyo, Japan.
It was originally scheduled to be held from 25 July to 7 August 2020, but on 24 March 2020, the Olympics were postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of this pandemic, the games were played behind closed doors and without the presence of spectators.
Competing in their fifth final in a row (wins in 2008 and 2012; losses in 2004 and 2016), the Netherlands won their fourth title, after winning the final 3–1 over Argentina. The defending champions Great Britain won the bronze medal after defeating India 4–3 in the bronze medal game.
The medals for the competition were presented by Gerardo Werthein, Argentina; IOC Executive Board Member, and the medalists' bouquets were presented by then FIH President Narinder Batra.
Competition schedule
Sat 24 Sun 25 Mon 26 Tue 27 Wed 28 Thu 29 Fri 30 Sat 31 Sun 1 Mon 2 Tue 3 Wed 4 Thu 5 Fri 6G G G G G G G ¼ ½ B F
Competition format The twelve teams in the tournament were divided into two groups of six, with each team initially playing round-robin games within their group. Following the completion of the round-robin stage, the top four teams from each group advanced to the quarter-finals. The two semi-final winners met for the gold medal match, while the semi-final losers played in the bronze medal match.
Qualification
Each of the Continental Champions from five confederations received an automatic berth. Japan as the host nation qualified automatically. The other teams qualified through the 2019 Women's FIH Olympic Qualifiers.
Umpires On 11 September 2019, 14 umpires were appointed by the FIH.
Carolina de la Fuente (ARG) Irene Presenqui (ARG) Aleisha Neumann (AUS) Laurine Delforge (BEL) Liu Xiaoying (CHN) Michelle Meister (GER) Sarah Wilson (GBR) Emi Yamada (JPN) Amber Church (NZL) Kelly Hudson (NZL) Michelle Joubert (RSA) Annelize Rostron (RSA) Ayanna McClean (TTO) Maggie Giddens (USA)
Squads
Group stage The pools were announced on 23 November 2019.
All times are local (UTC+9).Schedule
Group A
Group B
Knockout stage Bracket
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Bronze medal match
Gold medal match
GK 22 Josine Koning DF 13 Caia van Maasakker DF 18 Pien Sanders DF 21 Lauren Stam DF 23 Margot van Geffen DF 7 Xan de Waard MF 8 Marloes Keetels MF 24 Eva de Goede (c) FW 11 Maria Verschoor FW 12 Lidewij Welten FW 15 Frédérique MatlaSubstitutions: DF 3 Sanne Koolen MF 5 Malou Pheninckx MF 6 Laurien Leurink MF 10 Felice Albers MF 20 Laura Nunnink Manager: Alyson Annan
GK 1 Belén Succi DF 3 Agustina Gorzelany DF 4 Valentina Raposo DF 27 Noel Barrionuevo (c) MF 2 Sofía Toccalino MF 5 Agostina Alonso MF 17 Rocío Sánchez Moccia MF 18 Victoria Sauze MF 22 Eugenia Trinchinetti FW 10 María José Granatto FW 12 Delfina Merino Substitutions: FW 7 Agustina Albertario FW 21 Victoria Granatto MF 23 Micaela Retegui MF 24 Emilia Forcherio FW 28 Julieta Jankunas Manager: Carlos Retegui
Goalscorers
Final ranking
Cockroach recording On 26 July 2021, during the last five minutes of the preliminary match between Argentina and Spain, a cockroach was recorded on the field. While switching between cameras, the Argentinian sports channel Torneos y Competencias spent several seconds with one cameraperson that was focused on a cockroach walking atop a fence, leading the TyC Sports commentator to acknowledge the presence of "la cucaracha". A clip of the cockroach uploaded to Twitter by user @s6antispam went viral, receiving 8.2 million views worldwide over the weekend.
References