MELBOURNE — Australia clinched a record fifth straight Champions Trophy field hockey title with a 2-1 extra-time win over the Netherlands in the final in Melbourne Sunday. The second-ranked ‘Kookaburras' went some way to erasing the pain of their bronze medal at this year's London Olympics with victory over the world No. 3 Dutch in a tense final. After dominating much of the match the Australians were frustrated by Dutch goalkeeper Jaap Stockmann with their many shots on goal. The Netherlands struck first with an early penalty corner, however, the Kookaburras leveled the score minutes later through Russell Ford. Australia had the chance to go in front before half-time, but the penalty stroke was missed by Jamie Dwyer. The Kookaburras dominated the second-half, but the home side could not break through and the game went to extra-time. Australia continued to push in the golden goal period with Kieran Govers firing in a brilliant shot from the top of the circle, finally beating Stockmann to give Australia victory before their home fans. Pakistan won its first Champions Trophy medal since 2004 Sunday, beating India 3-2 in the bronze medal playoff, depriving its arch-rival of its first medal in more than 30 years. Pakistani champion Shakeel Abbasi said the bronze was as good as winning gold. “It was a very important match for us because for the past eight years we haven't won a medal at the Champions Trophy,” Abbasi said. “So for us this is a gold medal because after such a long time between winning medals, but also winning against India, for me and my team and for Pakistan this is a gold medal.” Pakistan beat India by the same score in the bronze medal showdown at Lahore eight years ago. India began the stronger Sunday, drawing a penalty corner in the opening minutes as the ball came off the foot of a Pakistani defender. The goal was converted by V.R. Raghunath and India had all the momentum. However, Pakistan eventually worked its way back into the game, drawing level with a field goal from Muhammad Rizwan Senior on 21 minutes. Pakistan continued to control the play after half-time, scoring twice more through Shafqat Rasool and Muhammad Ateeq to set up a commanding lead. India continued to fight until the end, scoring a penalty corner goal through Rupinder Pal Singh as the final siren sounded. Indian midfielder Yuvraj Walmiki said despite losing, his team would take a lot away from the tournament. “Coming out from the London Olympics we finished 12th and now at the Champions Trophy, after the Olympics and World Cup, it is one of the top tournaments so finishing fourth is a good achievement,” Walmiki said. “But we are sad that unfortunately we couldn't get bronze.” Pakistan also had wins over Germany (2-1) and Belgium (2-0) in the tournament, while India defeated England (3-1), New Zealand (4-2) and Belgium (1-0). — Agencies
