Less than two hours after nearly masterminding one of the biggest upsets in the history of the sport, China women’s head coach Alyson Annan faced the world’s media in the post-Olympic final press conference.
Prior to the contest, the majority of reporters in the room (and those watching both in the stadium and on TV) believed that hot favourites the Netherlands - the reigning Olympic, World, European and FIH Hockey Pro League champions - would comfortably take the title.
That proved far from being the case, with China shocking their illustrious opponents in the sixth minute thanks to Chen Yi’s perfectly angled close-range deflection. It was a lead they held until the 51st minute, with tournament top scorer Yibbi Jansen once again showcasing her penalty corner prowess with an unstoppable low drag-flick, forcing a shoot-out that her team controlled to win their fifth Olympic gold medal.
While the Netherlands – one of the most dominant sporting teams the world has ever seen – were rightly praised for their astonishing achievement, the contribution made by China to the occasion was enormous. The continental champions of Asia stood toe-to-toe throughout, fully deserving their regular time draw against the mighty Dutch in a gripping match.
Thanks to the tactical brilliance of Annan – an all-time great player who guided the Netherlands women to the Olympic title at Tokyo 2020 – China are once again a global force, with their performance in Paris matching the silver medal they won at Beijing 2008, their home Olympic Games. They earned the respect of the world, evidenced by the incredible reception they received from masses of Dutch supporting fans at Yves-du-Manoir and the questions that Annan and team captain Ou Zixia faced in the press conference.
"The strategy today was to score early”, said Annan, when asked about a game plan that was executed to near perfection. “We wanted to put a lot of pressure on their defence. I think we did that. We started doing that, and we did that very well in the beginning.
"You have to move the ball around against the Netherlands. Tactically, we wanted to play one-on-one to eliminate a few of their players. I think we did that pretty well. (There were) a few things we could have done better that we talked about before the game, eliminating certain passes.
"One of the biggest things we wanted to do, and knew we had to do today, was to work hard and defend well. And our team did that extremely well.”
While Annan made clear her intentions to take a well-deserved rest following China’s silver medal winning display at Paris 2024, the Hockeyroos legend and two-time FIH Player of the Year was typically honest when asked about the team’s ambitions for 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
"(We have to aim for) gold in LA. We can only look up. We have done extremely well, in a short period of time we have medalled. We have to look up and above from where we are now. We have gone from No.14 in the world to No.6 in a short time, a year and a half, but we have to keep pursuing a higher podium.”
With the dream of winning Olympic gold at LA being four years away, both Annan and team captain Ou are hopeful that winning silver at Paris 2024 will have a positive impact on hockey in China. After matching their best ever Olympic performance, the spotlight is shining brightly on both the sport and the players in the national team.
"I hope with this medal and the status of our players now in China, there will be more people playing hockey in China, and we will be able to set up some sort of club system in China”, said Annan. "It's all about facilities, and the number of people playing.”
It was a sentiment echoed by team captain Ou Zixia, saying: "I believe that winning the silver medal will mean that hockey will become more popular, and people will be more aware of hockey. I also hope that our love of the sport will also impact the youth, so that they will be interested in playing hockey.”
Regardless of what happens next, Annan and her players will remember what they achieved at Paris 2024 for the rest of their lives.
