Netherlands beats Germany for men's field hockey gold at the Paris Olympics

COLOMBES, France — A sprinkler inexplicably went off and delayed play for a couple of minutes. A dramatic shootout victory set off a wild celebration that was interrupted briefly when a scuffle almost broke out.

The men's Olympic field hockey final had a little bit of everything. And now the Netherlands has gold for the first time in more than two decades.

Duco Telgenkamp scored the golden goal in the shootout to give the Dutch the title at the Paris Games with a 2-1 victory over Germany. It's the Netherlands' first gold in men's hockey at the Olympics since 2000 and the third in the country’s history.

“That's what we've been building the last three years: We have a great group of guys, and when the hard work pays off, that's the most beautiful thing in life," said coach Jeroen Delmee, a part of all three championships after winning gold as a player in 1996 and 2000. “Winning the Olympic final, as a coach, it’s the most beautiful moment in my life.”

Telgenkamp, after scoring, dropped his stick, pumped his chest and stared at Germany goaltender Jean Danneberg while running past him. As Dutch players piled on one another in the corner to celebrate, Germany’s Niklas Wellen took exception and began shoving Telgenkamp, leading officials to separate the teams.

Asked what happened, Telgenkamp said: “Nothing. We won gold. Very happy. Emotions were high. That’s it.”

The tensions were much different from the confusion nearly an hour earlier when water began spraying the sideline and field 3:28 into the third quarter. Workers ran over to stop the shower, and the crowd at Yves-du-Manoir Stadium cheered when the water went off after about two minutes.

“That was crazy,” said Seve van Ass of the Netherlands. “It was unexpected. Maybe that’s part of the final — crazy things happening. It didn’t bother us too much, and luckily it was only a couple of minutes.”

Perhaps that is all the game needed to go from a scoreless, defensive struggle to a thriller with a dramatic finish. After no goals for the first three quarters, there were two in the first five minutes of the fourth: captain Thierry Brinkman scoring on a tap-in after Koen Bijen created the quality chance, and Thies Prinz tying it for Germany 3:20 later on a penalty corner.

In between, Germany defender Gonzalo Peillat made the save of the game by getting his stick on the ball in midair just before it reached the net. The Netherlands had an excellent chance at winning in regulation on a penalty corner with 56.1 seconds left, but Jip Janssen fired wide left of the goal.

With the score tied after regulation, the game went to a shootout with each team getting five 8-second chances to score. Brinkman and Thijs van Dam scored, and goalkeeper Pirmin Blaak stopped three of four attempts — including one twice because of a retake.

Telgenkamp's goal set off a party on the field and in the stands among the many Dutch fans clad in orange. And the opposite reaction among many Germany players who lay on the ground with their hands on their head.

Captain Mats Grambusch said he felt “empty, devastated.”

“Definitely tough,” teammate Christopher Ruehr said. “It was an open game. We could have won. But also just a very tough game, and in the end the shootout is always a little bit of luck and the Dutch were luckier today.”

The women’s team goes for the sweep Friday night when it faces China. No country has swept field hockey gold medals since the women’s tournament was added to the Games in 1980.

“That would be fantastic,” said Netherlands women’s coach Paul van Ass, Seve's father. “Our family stays close, with or without gold medals. So that’s independent of it, but it of course (would be) unique if that happens. Let’s see.”

India got bronze in men's field hockey for a second consecutive Olympics after beating Spain 2-1 earlier Thursday. Before Tokyo in 2021, India had not won a medal in the sport since 1980 — the last of its eight gold medals.

“We create history again,” captain and game-winning goal-scorer Harmanpreet Singh said. “It’s a big day for India and a big day for hockey.”

Goalkeeper PR Sreejesh confirmed afterward he was retiring at age 36.

“Everyone is asking me, ‘Why now?'” he said. "One piece of advice I got in my career is that when you retire people should not say, ‘Why not?' They should ask you, ‘Why?’ This is the right time to take that course.”