Olympics: Red Panthers in high spirits after comfortable win against France
The Red Panthers, Belgium women's hockey team, have won their second group match at the Olympics, beating France 5-0. They previously beat China. The second victory keeps them at the top of Group A.
Justine Rasir and Ambre Ballenghien scored two early goals for Belgium. The host nation couldn’t respond and before the end of the first quarter it was 3-0 thanks to Alix Gerniers. After half-time, Stephanie Vanden Borre and Ballenghien sealed the victory The goal difference puts them at the top of Group A, ahead of the favourites, the Netherlands.
“I think we started the match with the right mentality,” said Rasir. “We wanted to score as much as possible, that can be important later on.” Ballenghien said “it was special to play against the host country”. She was already looking ahead. “We are taking it match by match. The most important thing is to get to the knockout stage. We want to grow in the tournament."
The next match for the Panthers is against Japan on Wednesday, where victory would seal qualification for the quarter-finals, before they face the Netherlands and Germany. The top four in each of the two groups of six countries advance to the last eight.
Just like the Panthers, the men’s team, the Red Lions, opened their Olympic hockey tournament with two wins. They beat Ireland 2-0 and New Zealand 2-1 at the weekend and will meet Australia on Tuesday evening in a replay of the last Olympic final in Tokyo, which the Red Lions won.
Ambre Ballenghien celebrates after scoring for Belgium against France, 29 July 2024 © BELGA PHOTO DIRK WAEM
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