Argentina women beat Germany to reach hockey semis in Tokyo; Dutch also advance

The Argentina women have never won an Olympic hockey gold medal but clinched silver at both the 2012 London Games and the 2000 Sydney Games.

Published : Aug 02, 2021 08:08 IST , TOKYO

Argentina's Maria Victoria Granatto (L) and Victoria Sauze Valdez celebrate after defeating Germany 3-0 in their women's quarterfinal match of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Argentina's Maria Victoria Granatto (L) and Victoria Sauze Valdez celebrate after defeating Germany 3-0 in their women's quarterfinal match of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
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Argentina's Maria Victoria Granatto (L) and Victoria Sauze Valdez celebrate after defeating Germany 3-0 in their women's quarterfinal match of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Argentina reached the semifinals of the women's Olympic hockey tournament for the first time since 2012 on Monday thanks to a 3-0 win over Germany, the 2016 Olympic bronze medallist.

Argentina now faces India in the semifinal on Wednesday. The Argentina women have never won an Olympic hockey gold medal but clinched silver at both the 2012 London Games and the 2000 Sydney Games.

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Las Leonas stepped up the pace against their opponents from the start of the game, with their skilful attackers posing a looming threat to the Germans.

Their effort came into fruition shortly before the halftime break when a hard pass from Rocio Sanchez Moccia crossed in front of the goal to reach Agustina Albertarrio, who deflected the ball with her stick behind the German goalie.

The game had barely restarted when Maria Victoria Granatto doubled the score off a penalty corner with about a minute left to play until the halftime break.

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After the halftime break, the Germans were unable to break down their opponent's defence. Argentina sealed the win in the 52nd minute when Valentina Raposo Ruiz scored her country's third goal through another penalty corner.

The players were again given extended four-minute breaks between quarters to cool down from the heat at the main pitch of the Oi Hockey Stadium, as conditions remained hot and humid.

- NETHERLANDS THUMPS NEW ZEALAND 3-0 -

The Netherlands beat New Zealand 3-0 on Monday to qualify for the semifinals of the women's Olympic hockey tournament, joining India and Argentina in the last four.

Lidewij Welten, Frederique Matla and Lauren Stam scored for the Dutch, the 2016 silver medallist, which is now set for a showdown against the winner of the match between Spain and Great Britain.

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