Field hockey at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's tournament

Women's field hockey
at the 2020 Summer Olympics

Tournament details
Host country	Japan
City	Tokyo
Dates	24 July – 6 August 2021
Teams	12 (from 5 confederations)
Venue	Oi Hockey Stadium
Final positions
Champions	Netherlands (4th title)
Runner-up	Argentina
Third place	Great Britain
Tournament statistics
Matches played	38
Goals scored	142 (3.74 per match)
Top scorer	Frédérique Matla (9 goals)
← 2016 (previous) (next) 2024 →

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. ^[1] Because of this pandemic, the games were played behind closed doors and without the presence of spectators. ^[2]

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. ^[3] The defending champions Great Britain won the bronze medal after defeating India 4–3 in the bronze medal game. ^[4]

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

Legend

G

Group stage

¼

Quarter-finals

½

Semi-finals

B

Bronze medal match

F

Gold medal match

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 6
G	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

Main article: Field hockey at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's 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. ^[5]

Event	Dates	Location(s)	Quota	Qualifier(s)
Host nation	—N/a	—N/a	1	Japan
2018 Asian Games	19 August – 1 September 2018	Jakarta	–	– 1
2019 Pan American Games	29 July – 9 August 2019	Lima	1	Argentina
2019 African Olympic Qualifier	12 – 18 August 2019	Stellenbosch	1	South Africa
2019 EuroHockey Championship	17 – 25 August 2019	Antwerp	1	Netherlands
2019 Oceania Cup	5 – 8 September 2019	Rockhampton	1	New Zealand
2019 FIH Olympic Qualifiers	25 October – 3 November 2019	Various	7	Australia   China   Germany   Great Britain   India   Ireland   Spain
Total			12

^1 – Japan qualified both as the hosts and the continental champions, therefore that quota is added to the FIH Olympic Qualifiers rather than going to the runners-up of the tournament. ^[5]

Umpires

On 11 September 2019, 14 umpires were appointed by the FIH. ^[6]

• 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

Main article: Field hockey at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's team squads

Group stage

The pools were announced on 23 November 2019. ^[7]

All times are local (UTC+9). ^{[8] [9]}

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Netherlands	5	5	0	0	18	2	+16	15	Quarterfinals
2	Germany	5	4	0	1	13	7	+6	12
3	Great Britain	5	3	0	2	11	5	+6	9
4	India	5	2	0	3	7	14	−7	6
5	Ireland	5	1	0	4	4	11	−7	3
6	South Africa	5	0	0	5	5	19	−14	0

Source: Tokyo 2020 and FIH
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) matches won; 3) goal difference; 4) goals for; 5) head-to-head result; 6) field goals scored.

24 July 2021 (2021-07-24) 20:45 v Netherlands   5–1   India Albers  6', 43' Van Geffen  33' Matla  45' Van Maasakker  52' Report Rani  10' North Pitch Umpires: Carolina de la Fuente (ARG) Amber Church (NZL)

24 July 2021 (2021-07-24) 21:15 v Ireland   2–0   South Africa Upton  9' Torrans  45' Report South Pitch Umpires: Kelly Hudson (NZL) Emi Yamada (JPN)

---

25 July 2021 (2021-07-25) 09:30 v Great Britain   1–2   Germany Jones  13' Report Huse  24' Stapenhorst  33' North Pitch Umpires: Liu Xiaoying (CHN) Irene Presenqui (ARG)

---

26 July 2021 (2021-07-26) 10:00 v Netherlands   4–0   Ireland Albers  8' Pheninckx  49' Leurink  50' Matla  56' Report South Pitch Umpires: Michelle Meister (GER) Liu Xiaoying (CHN)

26 July 2021 (2021-07-26) 18:30 v South Africa   1–4   Great Britain Walraven  6' Report Rayer  29', 50' Toman  39' Unsworth  40' North Pitch Umpires: Carolina de la Fuente (ARG) Maggie Giddens (USA)

26 July 2021 (2021-07-26) 21:15 v Germany   2–0   India Lorenz  12' Schröder  35' Report South Pitch Umpires: Sarah Wilson (GBR) Emi Yamada (JPN)

---

28 July 2021 (2021-07-28) 09:30 v Netherlands   5–0   South Africa Matla  16', 35' Keetels  42' Albers  52' Verschoor  55' Report North Pitch Umpires: Amber Church (NZL) Ayanna McClean (TTO)

28 July 2021 (2021-07-28) 10:00 v Great Britain   4–1   India Martin  2', 19' Owsley  41' Balsdon  57' Report Sharmila  23' South Pitch Umpires: Laurine Delforge (BEL) Aleisha Neumann (AUS)

28 July 2021 (2021-07-28) 12:15 v Germany   4–2   Ireland Altenburg  10', 40' Pieper  20' Hauke  55' Report Tice  42' McLoughlin  51' South Pitch Umpires: Michelle Joubert (RSA) Sarah Wilson (GBR)

---

29 July 2021 (2021-07-29) 19:00 v Great Britain   0–1   Netherlands Report Matla  13' South Pitch Umpires: Michelle Joubert (RSA) Aleisha Neumann (AUS)

---

30 July 2021 (2021-07-30) 09:30 v South Africa   1–4   Germany Marks  53' Report Altenburg  2', 24' Zimmermann  10' Schröder  49' North Pitch Umpires: Emi Yamada (JPN) Maggie Giddens (USA)

30 July 2021 (2021-07-30) 11:45 v Ireland   0–1   India Report Navneet  57' North Pitch Umpires: Aleisha Neumann (AUS) Annelize Rostron (RSA)

---

31 July 2021 (2021-07-31) 12:15 v India   4–3   South Africa Vandana  4', 17', 49' Neha  32' Report Glasby  15' Hunter  30' Marais  39' South Pitch Umpires: Amber Church (NZL) Liu Xiaoying (CHN)

31 July 2021 (2021-07-31) 18:30 v Germany   1–3   Netherlands Zimmermann  23' Report Matla  8', 56' Welten  14' North Pitch Umpires: Irene Presenqui (ARG) Kelly Hudson (NZL)

31 July 2021 (2021-07-31) 20:45 v Ireland   0–2   Great Britain Report Townsend  17' Martin  32' North Pitch Umpires: Carolina de la Fuente (ARG) Emi Yamada (JPN)

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Australia	5	5	0	0	13	1	+12	15	Quarterfinals
2	Spain	5	3	0	2	9	8	+1	9
3	Argentina	5	3	0	2	8	8	0	9
4	New Zealand	5	2	0	3	8	7	+1	6
5	China	5	2	0	3	9	16	−7	6
6	Japan (H)	5	0	0	5	6	13	−7	0

Source: Tokyo 2020 and FIH
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) matches won; 3) goal difference; 4) goals for; 5) head-to-head result; 6) field goals scored.
(H) Hosts

25 July 2021 (2021-07-25) 10:00 v Australia   3–1   Spain Malone  31' Chalker  32' Stewart  37' Report Pérez  33' South Pitch Umpires: Michelle Joubert (RSA) Annelize Rostron (RSA)

25 July 2021 (2021-07-25) 11:45 v Japan   3–4   China Nomura  21' Y. Nagai  31' H. Nagai  45+' Report Gu  10', 35' Zhang Y.  20' Liang  52' North Pitch Umpires: Ayanna McClean (TTO) Michelle Meister (GER)

25 July 2021 (2021-07-25) 12:15 v New Zealand   3–0   Argentina Smith  35' Ralph  40' Pearson  54' Report South Pitch Umpires: Sarah Wilson (GBR) Maggie Giddens (USA)

---

26 July 2021 (2021-07-26) 12:15 v Australia   6–0   China Chalker  16', 22' Peris  31' Malone  54' Kershaw  56' Stewart  58' Report South Pitch Umpires: Amber Church (NZL) Laurine Delforge (BEL)

26 July 2021 (2021-07-26) 19:00 v Argentina   3–0   Spain Raposo  47' Albertario  57' Barrionuevo  59' Report South Pitch Umpires: Ayanna McClean (TTO) Aleisha Neumann (AUS)

26 July 2021 (2021-07-26) 20:45 v Japan   1–2   New Zealand Oikawa  18' Report Merry  26' Ralph  29' North Pitch Umpires: Irene Presenqui (ARG) Annelize Rostron (RSA)

---

28 July 2021 (2021-07-28) 11:45 v New Zealand   1–2   Spain Smith  35' Report Iglesias  8' Riera  22' North Pitch Umpires: Carolina de la Fuente (ARG) Michelle Meister (GER)

28 July 2021 (2021-07-28) 18:30 v Japan   0–1   Australia Report M. Fitzpatrick  33' North Pitch Umpires: Maggie Giddens (USA) Liu Xiaoying (CHN)

28 July 2021 (2021-07-28) 19:00 v Argentina   3–2   China Gorzelany  18', 24' Jankunas  54' Report Li H.  52' Liu  56' South Pitch Umpires: Annelize Rostron (RSA) Emi Yamada (JPN)

---

29 July 2021 (2021-07-29) 18:30 v Spain   2–0   China Pérez  4' Bonastre  19' Report North Pitch Umpires: Michelle Meister (GER) Irene Presenqui (ARG)

29 July 2021 (2021-07-29) 20:45 v Japan   1–2   Argentina Mori  19' Report Gorzelany  10' M. Granatto  45' North Pitch Umpires: Kelly Hudson (NZL) Ayanna McClean (TTO)

29 July 2021 (2021-07-29) 21:15 v New Zealand   0–1   Australia Report Chalker  34' South Pitch Umpires: Sarah Wilson (GBR) Laurine Delforge (BEL)

---

31 July 2021 (2021-07-31) 09:30 v China   3–2   New Zealand Liu  24' Chen Y.  37' Liang  54' Report Gunson  20' Keddell  45' North Pitch Umpires: Laurine Delforge (BEL) Ayanna McClean (TTO)

31 July 2021 (2021-07-31) 10:00 v Japan   1–4   Spain Mori  6' Report Barrios  25' García Grau  38' Mejías  55' Bonastre  57' South Pitch Umpires: Sarah Wilson (GBR) Maggie Giddens (USA)

31 July 2021 (2021-07-31) 11:45 v Argentina   0–2   Australia Report S. Fitzpatrick  49' Chalker  59' North Pitch Umpires: Michelle Meister (GER) Michelle Joubert (RSA)

Knockout stage

Bracket

	Quarter-finals				Semi-finals				Gold medal match
	2 August
	Netherlands	3
					4 August
	New Zealand	0
					Netherlands	5
	2 August
					Great Britain	1
	Spain	2 (0)
									6 August
	Great Britain (p.s.o.)	2 (2)
									Netherlands	3
	2 August
									Argentina	1
	Germany	0
					4 August
	Argentina	3
					Argentina	2
	2 August
					India	1			Bronze medal match
	Australia	0
									6 August
	India	1
									Great Britain	4
									India	3

Quarter-finals

2 August 2021 (2021-08-02) 09:30 v Germany   0–3   Argentina Report Albertario  27' V. Granatto  29' Raposo  52' Umpires: Laurine Delforge (BEL) Amber Church (NZL)

---

2 August 2021 (2021-08-02) 12:00 v Australia   0–1   India Report Gurjit  22' Umpires: Carolina de la Fuente (ARG) Irene Presenqui (ARG)

---

2 August 2021 (2021-08-02) 18:30 v Netherlands   3–0   New Zealand Welten  7' Matla  21' Stam  37' Report Umpires: Michelle Meister (GER) Michelle Joubert (RSA)

---

2 August 2021 (2021-08-02) 21:00 v Spain   2–2   Great Britain Iglesias  20' Bonastre  51' Report Martin  17' Balsdon  37' Penalties Ycart García Grau Oliva Pérez 0–2 Toman Martin Jones Umpires: Aleisha Neumann (AUS) Annelize Rostron (RSA)

Semi-finals

4 August 2021 (2021-08-04) 10:30 v Netherlands   5–1   Great Britain Albers  19', 38' Keetels  18' Verschoor  32' Matla  49' Report Ansley  41' Umpires: Michelle Joubert (RSA) Laurine Delforge (BEL)

---

4 August 2021 (2021-08-04) 19:00 v Argentina   2–1   India Barrionuevo  18', 37' Report Gurjit  2' Umpires: Amber Church (NZL) Sarah Wilson (GBR)

Bronze medal match

6 August 2021 (2021-08-06) 10:30 v Great Britain   4–3   India Rayer  16' Robertson  24' Pearne-Webb  35' Balsdon  48' Report Gurjit  25', 26' Vandana  29' Umpires: Michelle Joubert (RSA) Michelle Meister (GER)

Gold medal match

6 August 2021 (2021-08-06) 19:00 v Netherlands   3–1   Argentina Van Geffen  23' Van Maasakker  26', 29' Report Gorzelany  30+' Umpires: Laurine Delforge (BEL) Sarah Wilson (GBR)

Team details

Netherlands Argentina GK 22 Josine Koning DF 13 Caia van Maasakker DF 18 Pien Sanders DF 21 Lauren Stam 14' 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 Matla Substitutions: DF 3 Sanne Koolen  2' MF 5 Malou Pheninckx  3' MF 6 Laurien Leurink  3' MF 10 Felice Albers  4' MF 20 Laura Nunnink  4' 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 57'  5' FW 21 Victoria Granatto  5' MF 23 Micaela Retegui  9' MF 24 Emilia Forcherio  57' FW 28 Julieta Jankunas  5' Manager: Carlos Retegui

Goalscorers

There were 142 goals scored in 38 matches, for an average of 3.74 goals per match.

9 goals

• Frédérique Matla

6 goals

• Felice Albers

5 goals

• Emily Chalker

4 goals

• Agustina Gorzelany
• Lisa Altenburg
• Hannah Martin
• Gurjit Kaur
• Vandana Katariya

3 goals

• Noel Barrionuevo
• Grace Balsdon
• Elena Rayer
• Caia van Maasakker
• Berta Bonastre

2 goals

• Agustina Albertario
• Valentina Raposo
• Ambrosia Malone
• Grace Stewart
• Gu Bingfeng
• Liang Meiyu
• Liu Meng
• Anne Schröder
• Sonja Zimmermann
• Kanon Mori
• Margot van Geffen
• Marloes Keetels
• Maria Verschoor
• Lidewij Welten
• Hope Ralph
• Kelsey Smith
• Belén Iglesias
• Beatriz Pérez

1 goal

• María José Granatto
• Victoria Granatto
• Julieta Jankunas
• Savannah Fitzpatrick
• Madison Fitzpatrick
• Stephanie Kershaw
• Brooke Peris
• Chen Yang
• Li Hong
• Zhang Ying
• Franzisca Hauke
• Viktoria Huse
• Nike Lorenz
• Cécile Pieper
• Charlotte Stapenhorst
• Giselle Ansley
• Sarah Jones
• Lily Owsley
• Hollie Pearne-Webb
• Sarah Robertson
• Anna Toman
• Susannah Townsend
• Laura Unsworth
• Sharmila Devi
• Neha Goyal
• Navneet Kaur
• Rani Rampal
• Hannah McLoughlin
• Elena Tice
• Sarah Torrans
• Róisín Upton
• Hazuki Nagai
• Yuri Nagai
• Kana Nomura
• Shihori Oikawa
• Laurien Leurink
• Malou Pheninckx
• Lauren Stam
• Ella Gunson
• Rose Keddell
• Olivia Merry
• Holly Pearson
• Tarryn Glasby
• Erin Hunter
• Marizen Marais
• Toni Marks
• Nicole Walraven
• Laura Barrios
• Begoña García Grau
• Candela Mejías
• Lola Riera

Source: Tokyo2020 and FIH

Final ranking

As per statistical convention in field hockey, matches decided in regular time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Final result
1	Netherlands	8	8	0	0	29	4	+25	24	Gold Medal
2	Argentina	8	5	0	3	14	12	+2	15	Silver Medal
3	Great Britain	8	4	1	3	18	15	+3	13	Bronze Medal
4	India	8	3	0	5	12	20	−8	9	Fourth place
5	Australia	6	5	0	1	13	2	+11	15	Eliminated in quarter-finals
6	Germany	6	4	0	2	13	10	+3	12
7	Spain	6	3	1	2	11	10	+1	10
8	New Zealand	6	2	0	4	8	10	−2	6
9	China	5	2	0	3	9	16	−7	6	Eliminated in group stage
10	Ireland	5	1	0	4	4	11	−7	3
11	Japan (H)	5	0	0	5	6	13	−7	0
12	South Africa	5	0	0	5	5	19	−14	0

Source: Tokyo2020
(H) Hosts

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. ^[10] 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". ^[11] A clip of the cockroach uploaded to Twitter by user @s6antispam went viral, receiving 8.2 million views worldwide over the weekend. ^[12]

References

1. "Joint Statement from the International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee". olympic.org. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
2. "Tokyo Olympics to be held without fans after new COVID-19 state of emergency declared". usatoday.com. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
3. "Netherlands women take field hockey gold". nbcolympics.com. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
4. "Tokyo Olympics: Great Britain beat India to win women's hockey bronze". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
5. "Tokyo 2020 – FIH Hockey Qualification System" (PDF). FIH . Retrieved 2 May 2018.
6. "FIH appoints Officials for Tokyo 2020". FIH. 11 September 2019.
7. "Tokyo 2020 Olympic hockey tournaments: pools confirmed". FIH. 23 November 2019.
8. "Hockey competition schedule announced for rescheduled Olympic Games in Tokyo". FIH. 17 July 2020.
9. Schedule
10. Luscombe, Richard (August 3, 2021). "Camera operator gives cockroach a scurrying moment of Olympic glory". The Guardian . Retrieved August 7, 2024. Video cut to close-up of insect making its way along a ledge during the final minutes of women's field hockey match
11. Massie, Grame (August 3, 2021). "Bored TV cameraman under fire for cutting away from Olympic hockey to film cockroach". The Independent . Los Angeles. Retrieved August 7, 2024. Argentina were beating Spain at time of bizarre close-up of insect
12. Esmail, Alief (July 31, 2021). "Social StoriesTokyo Olympics: Cameraman Cuts Away From Final Moments Of Hockey Match To Film Cockroach". World of Buzz. Retrieved August 7, 2024.