It was first ever women hockey gold medal for Great Britain which came home when they beat defending champions Netherlands in a dramatic penalty shootout. The gold medal match ended with equal 3-3 at normal time but it was excellent save by Britain’s keeper Maddie Hinch in the penalty shootout that made the history for GB.
It was Hinch that held the current world champions in the shootout, where Britain won 2-0. The penalty score made by Helen Richardson-Walsh and Hollie Webb won Britain’s 24th gold at Rio 2016. With this score, Britain team is seven medals short to reach their London 2012 Olympic mark with two days remaining.
Netherlands are the current world champions, world no. 1 and the Olympics gold medalist from 2008 & 2012 games. It was high pressure game for the British team to lay the hand on the gold medal and was long waited. It was heroic performance by Hinch that clinched the gold medal for Britain. The first save of penalty stroke from Maartjee Paumen of Dutch kept the Britain hope alive.
The British team has won all their eight matches at Rio, was leading in the first quarter of the match till Kitty Van Male and Paumen from Dutch came in front to leave for the break with a lead. Comeback goals by Crista Cullen and Nicola White put Britain in the front again. Later it was another strike from Paumen that made the score tied at 3-3 at the end of the normal time.
Great Britain Captain Kate Richardson-Walsh and partner Helen Richardson-Walsh became the first same sex married couple to win gold for the country after 1920. In the bronze medal match Germany beat New Zealand 2-1 to the medal. Dutch players had penalty shoot out in semi-finals as well that gave them the edge over Britain little knowing that the goalkeeper Hinch was watching them closely to counter such situation.