After opening their Olympic title challenge with a devastating 8-2 Pool A victory over home favourites France, it was perhaps surprising that Germany men, the reigning world champions, found themselves on the losing side against an inspired Spain on Day 2.
While the defeat was unforeseen, Germany’s reaction to that setback was as regular as clockwork, overpowering South Africa 5-1 thanks to two strikes from Gonzalo Peillat – his first Olympic goals for Germany after netting a combined 15 in Argentinean colours at London 2012 and Rio 2016 – with Christopher Rühr, Justus Weigand and team captain Mats Grambusch on target.
The result moved Germany into second in Pool A after three rounds of matches, being one point behind fierce European rivals the Netherlands ahead of their hugely anticipated clash on Wednesday (31 July, 17:30).
“It was very positive”, said Germany’s electric attacker Niklas Wellen, reflecting on the win against the African continental champions. “We’ve seen from their earlier matches that South Africa are a really tough team to beat, the Netherlands won a tough game and GB only got one point. Every team that you face at the Olympics is tough, you see it in both pools. It was a tough game but we played very well today.”
For Wellen, being able to bounce back from adversity so quickly comes down to analysis and assessment, working out what went wrong and why before putting in place the plans needed to improve.
“We had a good debrief after the Spain defeat, figured out the things we needed to do better on and we did that today”, said the 29-year-old, who won Olympic bronze with Die Honamas at Rio 2016 and was part of the team that finished fourth at Tokyo 2020. “It sets us up nicely for our match against the Netherlands. They are a completely different opponent, a really strong side but I’m pretty confident that we can get another three points tomorrow (Wednesday).”
Wellen has been an exceptional performer for Germany in recent years, being widely regarded as one of the finest attacking players in the world. His seven goals were crucial to Germany’s incredible World Cup win last year and, despite having already shown his class with a double strike against France, the towering striker believes that his best is yet to come.
“I have a good feeling (about my form) but there is room for improvement ahead of the bigger games later in the tournament, although every game matters here at the Olympics. and I’m really happy and feeling good, both physically and mentally.”
Commenting on the brilliant atmosphere at the Yves-du-Manoir Hockey Stadium, which has seen bumper crowds flocking to watch the action on both pitches, Wellen said: “I’m enjoying it so much; it is so amazing. You just need to look at today, early on a Tuesday morning on Pitch 2 and there is a big crowd. This is what the Olympics is all about, which makes the whole experience so special.
“When we played France on the opening day, I had goosebumps when they were singing their national anthem”, continued Wellen. “The atmosphere was unbelievable. Obviously, Tokyo 2020 was a very different Olympic experience (with no crowds), but for the players we enjoy it so much more when the fans are there. I’m looking forward to playing the very best teams here in front of big crowds at this amazing stadium.”
The hockey competitions at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 take place from Saturday 27 July to Friday 9 August. Both the men’s and women’s competitions feature 12 teams, split into two pools of six ahead of quarter-finals, semi-finals and medal matches. For more information about the hockey competitions at Paris 2024, visit Olympics.Hockey.
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