BHUBANESWAR: Olympic field hockey gold-medallists Germany added the Champions Trophy yesterday with a 2-0 victory over spirited Pakistan in the final in Bhubaneswar.
Chris Wesley opened the scoring in the 18th minute following a penalty corner before Florian Fuchs banged in the second goal three minutes before the final whistle.
Some 7,000 Indian fans at the Kalinga stadium cheered wildly as the young Germans, with seven junior World Cup winners from 2013 in their side, won back the Champions title they took in 2007.
Pakistan had two players banned for the final and one reprimanded by the International Hockey Federation for making obscene gestures at the crowd after their 4-3 win over hosts India in Saturday’s semi-final.
But the South Asians, looking for their first major world title since 1994, kept the rampaging Germans at bay for a major part of the 60-minute match played under floodlights.
The closest Pakistan came to scoring was early in the fourth quarter when a loose ball from the left caught the Germans on the wrong foot, but Muhammad Bhutta was unable to slot the ball in.
German captain Moritz Furste, one of only two surviving members of the triumphant 2007 squad along with Tobias Hauke, said he was delighted at the progress of his young team.
“They came here to learn what top-level hockey is all about, so this is an absolutely brilliant result,” said Furste, who was named the player of the tournament.
“Ours was a good mix of youth and experience and I think we played really well in the knock-out matches.”
Pakistan coach Shahnaz Sheikh, who had walked out of the post-match press conference on Saturday after being pestered by Indian reporters about the behaviour of his players, praised his team after the final.
“I am proud of my boys,” the former international said. “After a tough year both on and off the field, we did well to reach the final.”
Finishing third were Australia, who came into the tournament as five-time defending champions. They defeated India 2-1 for the bronze medal.
In the day’s other matches, the Netherlands took fifth place after beating Argentina 4-1 and England nudged ahead of Belgium 3-2 to finish seventh.AFP
