Belgium’s road to Olympic gold: hockey
At the last Olympics in Tokyo, Belgium had its most successful Games since 1948, with a total of seven medals. This year's Paris Olympics could be even better, with plenty of Belgian candidates in the running for a medal. Today, Belga English looks at the hockey competitions.
The Red Lions, Belgium men's national field hockey team, truly have a "golden generation". Between 2018 and 2021, they became European, world and Olympic champions. It makes them without a doubt the most successful team in Belgian sports history.
Although they haven’t been as dominant as in recent years, they still have a good chance to win a medal for the third Games in a row, after silver in Rio and gold in Tokyo. They will mostly be relying on the members of the Golden Generation, such as captain Félix Denayer and penalty corner specialist Alexander Hendrickx.
In goal will be Vincent Vanasch, who has been named best goalkeeper in the world on several occasions. Another leader is defender Arthur Van Doren, named best player in the world multiple times.
"To successfully defend our title at the Games in Paris, it will come down to not making such mistakes"
But the team also features young talents eager to bring something new to this star-studded group. Among them are 20-year-old midfielder Arno Van Dessel and the promising striker Nelson Onana.
Their last friendly before travelling to Paris, against South Africa on 12 July, ended in a 2-2 draw. Vanasch was critical of his team’s performance. “We made some small mistakes and once again got proof that that can cost us dearly against any opponent,” he told Sporza.
“If we don't commit such stupidities, we are fine, but we are our own worst enemy. To successfully defend our title at the Games in Paris, it will come down to not making such mistakes.”
Red Panthers ready to claw to the top
After years in the shadow of the Red Lions, the women’s team of the Red Panthers are ready to reach the top as well. They have been climbing the world ranking for years and currently hold fourth place.
Although winning a medal will be very difficult, in the Pro League tournament last month the Panthers proved that they can beat the best teams in the world. They even beat the seemingly untouchable Dutch team and former Olympic champions Great Britain.
At last year's European Championship, the Red Panthers not only took the silver medal home but also won two individual prizes: attacker Charlotte Englebert was voted best player of the tournament and another attacker, Emily White, was elected best under-21 talent. The Panthers also have another prolific scorer on the field in Ambre Ballenghien.
One of the main leaders is the experienced midfielder and captain Barbara Nelen, who has a record 311 caps for the national team. Alix Gerniers also brings a lot of know-how to the midfield. In the defence, Stéphanie Vanden Borre is a key player, who also often takes the penalty corners. Elodie Picard has been chosen as the first goalkeeper.
The hockey competition in Paris runs from 27 July until 9 August. The men’s medal matches will take place on 8 August, the women’s a day later.
Belgium's men face Germany in a European Championship match, August 2023 © BELGA PHOTO DIRK WAEM
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