Top-ranked Netherlands secured a 2-2 draw against the world number two side Britain in men's hockey at the Paris Olympics, despite conceding two late goals to forward Lee Morton. The Dutch led Pool A on Tuesday, with both players and spectators drenched in sweat due to the intense 36 degrees Celsius (96.8°F) heat. Supporters cheered "Holland!" as they appeared in a sea of orange.
"Today the heat was unbelievable," said Netherlands captain Thierry Brinkman. "It was heavy to keep running normally. And the subs are coming closer, sooner, quicker. So when you're just off, someone is calling one minute and then we switch." He emphasized the importance of recovery, stating, "The most important thing now is to recover well, get a good sleep, and then fight again tomorrow."
Britain's captain David Ames praised his team's resilience, saying, "I think the quality that we've shown, our determination to keep fighting towards the end, to get two goals in the calibre and the way that we did, it's nice to come off with a draw and move forward unbeaten." The draw places Britain third on five points, behind the Dutch with seven and second-placed Germany on six.
In Pool B, table-topping India defeated Ireland 2-0, with captain Harmanpreet Singh scoring two early drag-flick goals. Singh has now scored the decisive goal in all three games for India, who lead with seven points ahead of Belgium and Australia on six. The top four in each six-team Pool qualify for the quarterfinals.
Spain managed a 3-3 draw against France, with substitute Timothee Clement scoring twice for the hosts. This result secured their first point in Pool A and kept their quarter-final hopes alive. France captain Viktor Lockwood acknowledged the importance of the match, stating, "Before the game we knew if we lose it's finished. Yesterday and this morning, we had a lot of meetings ... It's our first Olympics and maybe our last. Give everything in the game and just play, just play."
Germany rebounded strongly, defeating South Africa 5-1 in Pool A, following a previous upset loss to Spain.
