The FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup got here to an exhilarating conclusion on Sunday with Poland’s girls getting their arms on the trophy for the primary time and Germany’s males defeating Austria in a shootout to reclaim the title they final gained 14 years in the past.
The boys’s remaining produced a high-paced goal-fest with the scores locked on 6-6 in regulation time. It was a top-quality encounter with the edges by no means separated by a couple of purpose all through. Austria lived dangerously round their very own circle at occasions and Germany punished them for it. On the different finish of the court docket, Fabian Unterkircher was at his absolute best, including 4 targets in Austria’s dropping trigger.
There have been targets for Younger Participant of the Event Ben Hasbach, and a number of other glorious saves from Goalkeeper of the Event, Germany’s Joshua Onyekwue Nnaji.
The motion was unrelenting and the tip couldn’t have been extra dramatic with each groups having alternatives to seal the deal in regulation time. First Unterkircher levelled the scores for Austria within the thirty sixth minute. Then Austria’s goalkeeper, Mateusz Szymczyk, made a pointy save to disclaim Germany a winner. Unterkircher then struck the submit with two minutes remaining, taking the match right into a shootout the place Germany held their nerve to carry the trophy for the primary time since 2011.
“This isn’t for me, it’s for the entire group,” Participant of the Match Paul Dösch afterwards. “It’s unbelievable what we did the final 10 days. We didn’t play someday, we met 10 days in the past, it’s unbelievable.”
In sharp distinction to the lads’s remaining, the ladies’s gold-medal match featured only one purpose.
Polish captain Marlena Rybacha received her group off to an ideal begin, threading an impressive ball by means of the attention of a needle for Amelia Katerla who scored within the third minute. Poland had good alternatives to double their lead within the sixteenth and 18th minutes, however Austrian goalkeeper Michaela Streb was alert to the hazard and shut them down. Down on the different finish of the court docket Poland’s keeper, Marta Kucharska, completed the half with top-quality saves from a penalty stroke and a penalty nook and her group carried a slender 1-0 result in half time.
The Austrians cranked up the stress because the second half progressed, however the Poles managed the sport nicely. With three minutes to play Austria pulled their goalkeeper out to have a final roll of the cube and it practically paid off. Kucharska made one nice save from open play after which led her defence towards two penalty corners within the remaining 20 seconds as Poland held on for his or her first-ever FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup crown.
Rybacha and Kurcharska have been named joint Participant of the Match for Poland and a delirious Rybacha, who was later additionally named Participant of the Event, mentioned afterwards: “It feels unbelievable. It’s simply one thing that we can’t consider that we made it to be the world champions. You can’t describe it, it’s one thing that by no means, ever occurred to Poland hockey and we’ve made historical past.”
Earlier, South Africa’s males topped off their historic week with a 6-5 win over Belgium to take the bronze, a primary medal for the nation and the continent in a FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup. Mustapha Cassiem, who was later named Participant of the Event, grabbed one other hat-trick to complete on 17 targets.
Within the girls’s third-place playoff, Czechia equalised within the final play of regulation time towards Germany and went on to win the shootout for back-to-back bronze medals within the event.
Finest Gamers of the Event
Males
Finest junior participant – Ben Hasbach (GER)
Finest goalkeeper – Joshua Onyekwue Nnaji (GER)
High scorer – Philippe Simar (BEL)
Finest participant – Mustapha Cassiem (RSA)
Ladies
Finest junior participant – Reese d’Ariano (USA)
Finest goalkeeper – Somlak Suttiprapa (THA)
High scorer – Ines Wanner (GER)
Finest participant – Marlena Rybacha (POL)
9 February 2025 Outcomes
Males
End result: Match 29 (M)
Malaysia 6 – 4 Trinidad & Tobago
Participant of the match: Ashran Hamsani (MAS)
Umpires: Salman (INA), Lukasz Zwierzchowski (POL)
End result: Match 30 (M)
Argentina 1 – 7 Croatia
Participant of the match: Mario Mucić (CRO)
Umpires: Ayden Shrives (RSA), Lukasz Zwierzchowski (POL)
End result: Match 31 (M)
Iran 5 – 4 Namibia
Participant of the match: Hamid Nooranian (IRI)
Umpires: Ben Goentgen (GER), Zeke Newman (AUS)
End result: Match 32 (M)
Poland 6 – 2 Australia
Participant of the match: Mateusz Popiołkowski (POL)
Umpires: Melina Illanes (ARG), Ayden Shrives (RSA)
End result: Match 33 (M)
South Africa 6 – 5 Belgium
Participant of the match: Mustapha Cassiem (RSA)
Umpires: Michelle Meister (GER), Ben Goentgen (GER)
End result: Match 34 (M)
Germany 6 – 6 Austria (SO: 2 – 1)
Participant of the match: Paul Dösch (GER)
Umpires: Pieter Hembrecht (NED), Sean Edwards (ENG)
Ladies
End result: Match 31 (W)
Thailand 3 – 5 United States
Participant of the match: Reese D’Ariano (USA)
Umpires: Ana Ortega (ESP), Ivona Makar (CRO)
End result: Match 32 (W)
Namibia 1 – 6 Belgium
Participant of the match: Laurine Delforge (BEL)
Umpires: Kristy Robertson (AUS), Abby Macarthur (WAL)
End result: Match 33 (W)
Germany 3 – 3 Czechia (SO: 2 – 3)
Participant of the match: Barbora Ćecháková (CZE)
Umpires: Emily Carroll (AUS), Ana Ortega (ESP)
End result: Match 34 (W)
Austria 0 – 1 Poland
Participant of the match: Marlena Rybacha (POL)
Umpires: Rachel Williams (ENG), Michael Pontus (BEL)
Last event standings:
Ladies
Poland, 2. Austria, 3. Czechia, 4. Germany, 5. Belgium, 6. Namibia, 7. United States, 8. Thailand, 9. South Africa, 10. Australia, 11. New Zealand, 12. Croatia
Males
Germany, 2. Austria, 3. South Africa, 4. Belgium, 5. Poland, 6. Australia, 7. Iran, 8. Namibia, 9. Croatia, 10. Argentina, 11. Malaysia, 12. Trinidad & Tobago
All photos: ©FIH/WorldSportPics
