Dramatic Olympic shootout
A cheeky penalty takes DHB women to Paris
January 18, 2024, 8:42 p.m
The German hockey women qualify for the Olympics in Paris after a shootout thriller – the men also have good cards. The DHB team avoided a nerve-wracking playoff thanks to their strong fighting performance, which was rewarded in the end.
Lisa Nolte threw her racket into the air, then let her charging teammates celebrate her. With her cheeky penalty through her own legs, the 22-year-old sent the German hockey women to Paris. The dramatic 4:3 win against hosts India in the shootout of the semi-final was enough for the Olympic ticket in the qualifying tournament – which the men also came a big step closer to.
“It’s simply amazing what great conviction this team has until the last second,” said match winner Nolte: “Together we won this penalty shootout – now we’re just extremely proud.” It was 2:2 (1:1) after regular time and a brace from Charlotte Stapenhorst (27th/57th). Nolte’s hour came in the thriller – the young Düsseldorf striker kept her calm and scored two penalties in front of an impressive backdrop in hockey-crazy India.
The DHB team avoided a nerve-wracking playoff thanks to their strong fighting performance, which was rewarded in the end. There is no sporting value in the final on Saturday against the USA, which also qualified. In addition to the basketball world champions and the volleyball men, the hockey women are the third German team from classic team sports to have qualified for Paris. In addition, the team European champions in table tennis have secured their ticket.
DHB men just need one more win
In the morning, the men in Oman had booked their semi-final ticket and taken a big step towards Paris. After the confident 3-0 (2-0) against outsiders Chile in the final group game, the world champion is only missing a win in the next two games.
Tom Grambusch (15th) and Gonzalo Peillat (22nd) scored from penalty corners for national coach Andre Henning’s team, which had come under pressure from the slightly surprising 2-2 draw against New Zealand on Tuesday. Justus Weigand (49th) scored the third goal of the game. The fourth place in Tokyo has the first opportunity to buy their Olympic ticket on Saturday (5:30 p.m./sportschau.de) in the semi-final against Pakistan.
“All in all, we played well. Now we’re looking forward to the semi-finals,” said goalscorer Grambusch, praising the dominant performance from the start. Successful qualification is considered a must for his team, which surprisingly won the World Cup title at the beginning of 2023.