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The goalkeeper of Germany’s men’s hockey team has branded the behaviour of a Dutch player who ‘shushed’ him after losing the Olympic final the “most disrespectful thing I’ve ever experienced in sport”.
In one of the ugliest scenes at the Paris Olympics, Duco Telgenkamp taunted Jean-Paul Danneberg by placing his finger to his lips after scoring the decisive penalty that sealed Dutch Olympic glory. The striker also brushed the German keeper’s helmet before wheeling away in celebration with his team-mates.
His actions sparked a furious post-match scuffle as pushing and shoving broke out between the teams before officials separated them after Dutch player Floris Middendorp grabbed Germany’s Niklas Wellen by the neck.
Danneberg later broke his silence on Telgenkamp’s antagonistic celebration and labelled him a “bad winner”.
“That was the most disrespectful thing I have ever experienced in sport,’ the goalkeeper said. “I don’t know how someone can be such a bad winner. It is the best moment of his life and he is booed for it at the awards ceremony.”
Telgenkamp, who was accused on social media of bad sportsmanship, later tried to justify his actions on the basis that he was riled by pre-match comments from Danneberg, who suggested that the Netherlands were “afraid” of Germany.
“There were articles and we took them personally,” said 22-year-old Telgenkamp. “After that it became very emotional. What I did was not nice. I am sorry for the way I acted. Again, emotions came up at the end. But it is what it is. We won. I would have apologised if I had seen him.”
The win gave the Dutch men their third gold medal and 10th medal overall in hockey since 1928. They last won gold at the Sydney Games in 2000, having lost in the 2004 and 2012 finals.
Germany’s Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, was in the stands to watch his country as cries of “Holland!” and “Deutschland!” competed with each other throughout a tightly contested defensive match-up.
Dutch skipper Thierry Brinkman scored the first goal in the 46th minute by redirecting a ball lofted over Danneberg, with Germany responding from a penalty corner score by midfielder Thies Prinz in the 50th minute, sending the game to penalties. And then it all kicked off.
India won the bronze in men’s field hockey for a second consecutive Olympics after beating Spain 2-1 earlier on Thursday. Before Tokyo in 2021, India had not won a medal in the sport since 1980.
“We create history again,” captain and game-winning goal-scorer Harmanpreet Singh said. “It’s a big day for India and a big day for hockey.”
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