BEAT SPAIN TO TAKE MEN’S HOCKEY GOLD

Power-packed Germany won the Olympic men’s hockey gold medal after 16 years with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Spain in the final on Saturday.

Christopher Zeller netted the winner in the 16th minute with a ferocious penalty corner before the Germans warded off repeated Spanish attacks to strike gold in field hockey ’s 100th year at the Olympics.

Germany added the Olympic title to the World Cup triumph two years ago, reinforcing their credentials as the sport’s foremost nation despite losing the number one ranking to Australia in June. Germany improved upon their bronze medal finish at Athens four years ago, when they beat Spain 4-3 in the play-off, to win their first gold since the Barcelona Olympics in 1992.

It was two-in-a-row for coach Markus Weise, who had led the German women’s team to their maiden Olympic title in Athen. Spain lived up to their billing as the best team never to have won the Olympic gold as they faltered for the third time after losing finals to India in 1980 and the Netherlands in 1996.

Meanwhile, Athens Olympic champions Australia won the bronze medal with a spectacular 6-2 win over the Netherlands earlier on Saturday.

The world No. 1 Kookaburras, smarting from Thursday’s semifinal loss to Spain, took their frustration out on the Dutch by scoring three goals in the first nine minutes.

The win bettered Australia’s 6-3 triumph over Pakistan in Sydney in 2000. AFP