By Joseph Romanos
The New Zealand women’s hockey team have some unfinished business on their minds as they put their finishing touches on their preparation for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
The women’s Black Sticks went within a whisker of making the final of the 2012 London Olympics. They met pre-tournament favourites the Netherlands in the semi-finals and all but clinched victory in regular time. With the scores locked at 2-2, the match went into a penalty shootout, which the Dutch side won convincingly.
Reeling from the blow of so narrowly missing the final, Kayla Sharland’s side then lost the third place play-off 3-1 to Great Britain and missed out on a medal of any colour.
Coach Mark Hager has named a vastly experienced side for Rio. Kayla Whitelock (she married in 2013) is back for her fourth Olympics and is one of five players in the team to have played more than 200 tests. Only three of the 16-strong lineup have fewer than 100 caps.
One area the New Zealanders have focused on is penalty shootouts. In recent years they lost not only their 2012 Olympic semi-final in that fashion, but also to Australia in the final of the Oceania Cup and to England in the semi-finals of the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
Odd things have happened in Olympic women’s hockey. Teams not rated especially highly beforehand have come through, and the New Zealanders will be hoping to get on a roll in Rio.
The unpredictable nature of Olympic women’s hockey was never better illustrated than at Moscow in 1980. It was the first time women had contested hockey at Olympic level, but the tournament was decimated by the American-led boycott. No less than five of the six teams withdrew, including New Zealand.
White-ruled Zimbabwe had been barred from the Olympics, but when the black majority took power the ban was lifted. When the hockey withdrawals were announced, Zimbabwe was belatedly invited to field a side and the IOC even helped to subsidise its entry.
The Zimbabwean team was chosen only on the weekend before the games began. Ironically, it was comprised entirely of white players.
The Zimbabweans proved unstoppable in Moscow, going through the tournament unbeaten and sealing the gold medal with their final-round 4-1 victory over Austria.
Jenny McDonald had been named as captain of a strong lineup in 1980. Many of the players who did not get to Moscow finally made their Olympic debuts at Los Angeles four years later. However, McDonald’s side did not fare well there, losing all five matches.
After not qualifying for the 1988 Olympics, New Zealand were back in 1992, but the side, so full of hope and promise, played poorly, losing all five games and scoring only three goals while conceding 17. Significantly, youngsters such as Tina Bell, Anna Lawrence and Mandy Smith announced themselves on the international stage that year. They were to play a leading role in the Black Sticks over the next decade.
New Zealand missed the 1996 Olympics, but returned in 2000 and played really well. Coach Jan Borren developed a fast, exciting side that finished top of its pool. The New Zealanders still had medal hopes going into their final match, but lost 7-1 to Argentina and eventually finished sixth.
Four years later, New Zealand were again sixth, but in 2008 they failed to fire, losing all six matches and finishing 12th and last.
Then came the heartbreak of 2012. Whitelock and her troops will be looking to make amends in Rio.