Following their dramatic shoot-out win against reigning women’s Olympic and world champions Netherlands in last month’s Unibet EuroHockey Championship final, the star from that night picked up an illustrious award from one of the UKs top broadcasters.
England goalkeeper Maddie Hinch received the Sky Sports Sportswoman of the Month award for August following her performances throughout the event, which saw England women crowned European champions for the first time since 1991.
For the award, amongst other female athletes, she was up against reigningOlympic and world heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis-Hill, who had won that same event at the World Athletics Championships in Beijing, China earlier in August.
Speaking of the award, Hinch said: “When I saw I was up against Jessica Ennis-Hill, I thought ‘wow’ that is some company to be in.”
But the England and Great Britain goalkeeper, whose Sky Sports award is just one more accolade to add to her growing collection, might one day reflect that Ennis-Hill and other female athletes would consider themselves to be honoured finding themselves in the company of the 26-year-old goalkeeper.
Since June, Hinch has been part of the Great Britain team that played in the Hockey World League Semi-Finals in Valencia, beating all opposition to secure both a spot at the Rio 2016 Olympics and a place among the world's best eight teams at the women’s Argentina Hockey World League Final in Rosario.
Hinch was voted goalkeeper of the tournament in Valencia after conceding just one goal throughout the 10 days of competition.
Following Olympic qualification, she swapped the Great Britain shirt for England and went on to even greater heights, winning the European Championships for England for the first time in 24 years.
The manner of their victory – coming back from 2-0 down against the world number one ranked side and reigning World Cup and Olympic champions, Netherlands, was a script worthy of a Hollywood movie.
That night in London, Hinch played a leading role. The Dutch had taken a 2-0 lead and seemed on the way to yet another title, but the last eight minutes of the match, played in front of a capacity crowd at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, saw a remarkable fightback by England.
“We knew if we could get back into the game, there is no better ‘keeper when it comes to shoot-outs than Maddie,” said England Head Coach Danny Kerry after that victory.
Maddie paid back his confidence as she made three saves in the shoot-out against three of the best strikers in the world.
What is sometimes forgotten from that memorable evening in front of a passionate home crowd, is that Maddie had also pulled off a gravity-defying triple save in the dying moments of the match, somehow going from lying on the floor after one diving save, to reaching a follow-up shot and then somehow saving another.
The next international challenge for Hinch and her Great Britain teammates is the women’s Argentina Hockey World League Final in Rosario at the end of the year.
As a build-up event for the Olympics, that tournament is crucial. As a standalone event to work on squad tactics and perform against the best teams in the world, it is priceless.
For Hinch, it is yet another chance for the 'geek' in her to show itself. "I do my homework before on our opponents and the way they like to take their penalties, so I have a game plan to give me confidence. Events such as the EuroHockey Championships and the Hockey World League are a chance for me to go up against the top players on the planet. It is just like: ‘Get out there and give it a go’. Thankfully, in the EuroHockey Final, the Dutch did what I thought they’d do. So the geekiness was working."
With the Hockey World League Final just over 11 weeks away, players and coaches from all of the teams taking part in Rosario are going to be doing their own homework… looking for ways to beat the award-winning Great Britain and England hero.
Listen to a live interview with Maddie Hinch on the Sky Sports website after winning her award by clicking here.
Photo: Frank Uijlenbroek/England Hockey/European Hockey Federation
