# Field hockey at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Field hockey at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro took place from 6 to 19 August at the Olympic Hockey Centre in Deodoro. The competition had instituted several changes in the format and structure from the 2012 Summer Olympics. Twenty-four teams (twelve each for men and women) competed in the tournament.

## Competition schedule

The match schedule of the men's tournament was unveiled on 27 April 2016.
| G | Group stage | ¼ | Quarter-finals | ½ | Semi-finals | B | Bronze medal match | F | Gold medal match |
| DateEvent | Sat 6 | Sun 7 | Mon 8 | Tue 9 | Wed 10 | Thu 11 | Fri 12 | Sat 13 | Sun 14 | Mon 15 | Tue 16 | Wed 17 | Thu 18 | Thu 18 | Fri 19 | Fri 19 |
| Men | G | G | G | G | G | G | G | | ¼ | | ½ | | B | F | | |
| Women | G | G | G | | G | G | G | G | | ¼ | | ½ | | | B | F |

## Format changes

On 20 March 2014, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) instituted the changes to the match format, reducing from two 35-minute halves to four 15-minute quarters, with 2 minutes' rest after each period, and 15 at halftime. The purpose of the changes aims to improve the flow and intensity of the competition, and reinforce fan experience and opportunity for game presentation and analysis. Other changes include the implementation of 40-second time outs following both penalty corner awards and the scoring of a goal. Both interruptions and time outs must assure that the 60-minute game time is escalated for actual tournament and not depleted with a penalty corner set up, especially when the ball is not in play. Games ending in ties in knockout rounds are decided by penalty shootouts, as overtime was abolished in 2013.
According to Leandro Negre, president of FIH, “The decision today demonstrates our commitment to fan engagement. With the additional breaks, fans will have the opportunity to enjoy more replays and be more engaged with the event, whether in the stadium or watching from afar, while hockey commentators will be allowed more time to provide sport analysis between plays. In addition, coaches and players will see improvement in their performance with the additional opportunities to re-hydrate and re-strategize.”

## Qualification
### Men's qualification

Each of the Continental Champions from five confederations received an automatic berth. Brazil, as the host nation, qualified automatically but with a rider: due to the relatively low standard of field hockey in Brazil, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) required Brazil to place higher than thirtieth in the FIH World Rankings by the end of 2014 or finish no worse than sixth at the 2015 Pan American Games in order to qualify as host nation. They achieved this by beating the United States on a penalty shoot-out in their quarterfinal, thus ensuring a top four finish.
In addition, the six highest placed teams at the Semifinals of the 2014–15 FIH Hockey World League not already qualified received the remaining berths in this tournament.
| Dates | Event | Location | Qualifier |
| 20 September – 2 October 2014 | 2014 Asian Games | Incheon, South Korea | India |
| 3–14 June 2015 | 2014–15 FIH Hockey World League Semifinals | Buenos Aires, Argentina | Germany |
| 3–14 June 2015 | 2014–15 FIH Hockey World League Semifinals | Buenos Aires, Argentina | Canada |
| 3–14 June 2015 | 2014–15 FIH Hockey World League Semifinals | Buenos Aires, Argentina | Spain |
| 3–14 June 2015 | 2014–15 FIH Hockey World League Semifinals | Buenos Aires, Argentina | New Zealand |
| 20 June – 5 July 2015 | 2014–15 FIH Hockey World League Semifinals | Antwerp, Belgium | Belgium |
| 20 June – 5 July 2015 | 2014–15 FIH Hockey World League Semifinals | Antwerp, Belgium | Great Britain |
| 20 June – 5 July 2015 | 2014–15 FIH Hockey World League Semifinals | Antwerp, Belgium | Ireland |
| 21 July 2015 | Host nation | Toronto, Canada | Brazil |
| 14–25 July 2015 | 2015 Pan American Games | Toronto, Canada | Argentina |
| 21–29 August 2015 | 2015 EuroHockey Nations Championship | London, England | Netherlands |
| 21–25 October 2015 | 2015 Oceania Cup | Stratford, New Zealand | Australia |
| 23 October – 1 November 2015 | 2015 African Qualifying Tournament | Randburg, South Africa | — |
| Total | Total | Total | 12 |
* ↑ South Africa won the continental qualifier however the team did not participate in the 2016 Olympics. South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) and South African Hockey Association (SAHA) made an agreement on the Rio 2016 Olympics qualification criteria that the Continental Qualification route would not be considered. As a result, New Zealand, as the highest-ranked team from the 2014-15 Hockey World League Semifinals not already qualified, participated instead.

### Women's qualification

Each of the continental champions from five confederations received an automatic berth. The host nation did not qualify as they failed to place higher than fortieth in the FIH World Rankings by the end of 2014 nor finished or seventh at the 2015 Pan American Games, failing to even qualify for that tournament: this restriction was decided between the International Hockey Federation (FIH) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) due to the relatively low standard of field hockey in Brazil. In addition, the seven highest placed teams at the Semifinals of the 2014–15 FIH Hockey World League not already qualified received the remaining berths in this tournament.
| Date | Event | Location | Qualifier |
| 20 September – 2 October 2014 | 2014 Asian Games | Incheon, South Korea | South Korea |
| 10–21 June 2015 | 2014–15 FIH Hockey World League Semifinals | Valencia, Spain | China |
| 10–21 June 2015 | 2014–15 FIH Hockey World League Semifinals | Valencia, Spain | Germany |
| 10–21 June 2015 | 2014–15 FIH Hockey World League Semifinals | Valencia, Spain | Argentina |
| 10–21 June 2015 | 2014–15 FIH Hockey World League Semifinals | Valencia, Spain | Spain |
| 20 June – 5 July 2015 | 2014–15 FIH Hockey World League Semifinals | Antwerp, Belgium | Netherlands |
| 20 June – 5 July 2015 | 2014–15 FIH Hockey World League Semifinals | Antwerp, Belgium | New Zealand |
| 20 June – 5 July 2015 | 2014–15 FIH Hockey World League Semifinals | Antwerp, Belgium | India |
| 20 June – 5 July 2015 | 2014–15 FIH Hockey World League Semifinals | Antwerp, Belgium | Japan |
| 13–24 July 2015 | 2015 Pan American Games | Toronto, Canada | United States |
| 22–30 August 2015 | 2015 EuroHockey Nations Championship | London, England | Great Britain |
| 21–25 October 2015 | 2015 Oceania Cup | Stratford, New Zealand | Australia |
| 23 October – 1 November 2015 | 2015 African Qualifying Tournament | Randburg, South Africa | — |
| Total | Total | Total | 12 |
* 1 2 South Africa won the continental qualifier however the team did not participate in the 2016 Olympics. South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) and South African Hockey Association (SAHA) made an agreement on the Rio 2016 Olympics qualification criteria that the Continental Qualification route would not be considered. As a result, Spain, as the highest-ranked team from the 2014–15 Hockey World League Semifinals not already qualified, participated instead.
* ↑ Competed as England

## Men's competition

The competition consisted of two stages; a group stage followed by a knockout stage.

### Group stage

Teams were divided into two groups of six nations, playing every team in their group once. Three points were awarded for a victory, one for a draw. The top four teams per group qualified for the quarter-finals.

#### Group A

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Belgium | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 5 | +16 | 12 | Quarter-finals |
| 2 | Spain | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 6 | +7 | 10 | Quarter-finals |
| 3 | Australia | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 4 | +9 | 9 | Quarter-finals |
| 4 | New Zealand | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 17 | 8 | +9 | 7 | Quarter-finals |
| 5 | Great Britain | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 14 | 10 | +4 | 5 | |
| 6 | Brazil (H) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 46 | −45 | 0 | |

#### Group B

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Germany | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 10 | +7 | 13 | Quarter-finals |
| 2 | Netherlands | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 6 | +12 | 10 | Quarter-finals |
| 3 | Argentina | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 12 | +2 | 8 | Quarter-finals |
| 4 | India | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 7 | Quarter-finals |
| 5 | Ireland | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 16 | −6 | 3 | |
| 6 | Canada | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 22 | −15 | 1 | |

### Knockout stage

| Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | | Gold medal match | Gold medal match |
| 14 August | 14 August | | | |
| Belgium | 3 | | | |
| Belgium | 3 | 16 August | 16 August | | |
| India | 1 | 16 August | 16 August | |
| India | 1 | Belgium | 3 | |
| 14 August | 14 August | | Belgium | 3 | |
| 14 August | 14 August | Netherlands | 1 | |
| Netherlands | 4 | Netherlands | 1 | |
| Netherlands | 4 | | | | 18 August | 18 August |
| Australia | 0 | | | | 18 August | 18 August |
| Australia | 0 | | | | Belgium | 2 |
| 14 August | 14 August | | | | | Belgium | 2 |
| 14 August | 14 August | | | | Argentina | 4 |
| Spain | 1 | | | | Argentina | 4 |
| Spain | 1 | 16 August | 16 August | | | |
| Argentina | 2 | 16 August | 16 August | | | |
| Argentina | 2 | Argentina | 5 | | | |
| 14 August | 14 August | | Argentina | 5 | | | |
| 14 August | 14 August | Germany | 2 | | Bronze medal match | Bronze medal match |
| Germany | 3 | Germany | 2 | | Bronze medal match | Bronze medal match |
| Germany | 3 | | | | 18 August | 18 August |
| New Zealand | 2 | | | | 18 August | 18 August |
| New Zealand | 2 | | | | Netherlands | 1 (3) |
| | | | | | Germany (p.s.o.) | 1 (4) |

## Women's competition

The competition consisted of two stages; a group stage followed by a knockout stage.

### Group stage

Teams were divided into two groups of six nations, playing every team in their group once. Three points were awarded for a victory, one for a draw. The top four teams per group qualified for the quarter-finals.

#### Group A

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Netherlands | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 1 | +12 | 13 | Quarter-finals |
| 2 | New Zealand | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 5 | +6 | 10 | Quarter-finals |
| 3 | Germany | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 7 | Quarter-finals |
| 4 | Spain | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 12 | −6 | 6 | Quarter-finals |
| 5 | China | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 5 | |
| 6 | South Korea | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 13 | −10 | 1 | |

#### Group B

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Great Britain | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 4 | +8 | 15 | Quarter-finals |
| 2 | United States | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 5 | +9 | 12 | Quarter-finals |
| 3 | Australia | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 5 | +6 | 9 | Quarter-finals |
| 4 | Argentina | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 6 | +6 | 6 | Quarter-finals |
| 5 | Japan | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 16 | −13 | 1 | |
| 6 | India | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 19 | −16 | 1 | |

### Knockout stage

| Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | | Gold medal match | Gold medal match |
| 15 August | 15 August | | | |
| Netherlands | 3 | | | |
| Netherlands | 3 | 17 August | 17 August | | |
| Argentina | 2 | 17 August | 17 August | |
| Argentina | 2 | Netherlands (p.s.o.) | 1 (4) | |
| 15 August | 15 August | | Netherlands (p.s.o.) | 1 (4) | |
| 15 August | 15 August | Germany | 1 (3) | |
| United States | 1 | Germany | 1 (3) | |
| United States | 1 | | | | 19 August | 19 August |
| Germany | 2 | | | | 19 August | 19 August |
| Germany | 2 | | | | Netherlands | 3 (0) |
| 15 August | 15 August | | | | | Netherlands | 3 (0) |
| 15 August | 15 August | | | | Great Britain (p.s.o.) | 3 (2) |
| New Zealand | 4 | | | | Great Britain (p.s.o.) | 3 (2) |
| New Zealand | 4 | 17 August | 17 August | | | |
| Australia | 2 | 17 August | 17 August | | | |
| Australia | 2 | New Zealand | 0 | | | |
| 15 August | 15 August | | New Zealand | 0 | | | |
| 15 August | 15 August | Great Britain | 3 | | Bronze medal match | Bronze medal match |
| Great Britain | 3 | Great Britain | 3 | | Bronze medal match | Bronze medal match |
| Great Britain | 3 | | | | 19 August | 19 August |
| Spain | 1 | | | | 19 August | 19 August |
| Spain | 1 | | | | Germany | 2 |
| | | | | | New Zealand | 1 |

## Medal summary
### Medal table

| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | Argentina (ARG) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1 | Great Britain (GBR) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | Belgium (BEL) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | Netherlands (NED) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 5 | Germany (GER) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Totals (5 entries) | Totals (5 entries) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |

### Medalists

| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Men details | Argentina (ARG) Juan Manuel Vivaldi Gonzalo Peillat Juan Ignacio Gilardi Pedro Ibarra Facundo Callioni Lucas Rey Matías Paredes Joaquín Menini Lucas Vila Luca Masso Ignacio Ortiz Juan Martín López Juan Manuel Saladino Isidoro Ibarra Matías Rey Manuel Brunet Agustín Mazzilli Lucas Rossi | Belgium (BEL) Arthur Van Doren John-John Dohmen Florent van Aubel Sebastien Dockier Cédric Charlier Gauthier Boccard Emmanuel Stockbroekx Thomas Briels Felix Denayer Vincent Vanasch Simon Gougnard Loïck Luypaert Tom Boon Jérôme Truyens Elliot Van Strydonck Tanguy Cosyns 0 0 | Germany (GER) Nicolas Jacobi Matthias Müller Linus Butt Martin Häner Moritz Trompertz Mats Grambusch Christopher Wesley Timm Herzbruch Tobias Hauke Tom Grambusch Christopher Rühr Martin Zwicker Moritz Fürste Florian Fuchs Timur Oruz Niklas Wellen 0 0 |
| Women details | Great Britain (GBR) Maddie Hinch Laura Unsworth Crista Cullen Hannah Macleod Georgie Twigg Helen Richardson-Walsh Susannah Townsend Kate Richardson-Walsh Sam Quek Alex Danson Giselle Ansley Sophie Bray Hollie Webb Shona McCallin Lily Owsley Nicola White | Netherlands (NED) Joyce Sombroek Xan de Waard Kitty van Male Laurien Leurink Willemijn Bos Marloes Keetels Carlien Dirkse van den Heuvel Kelly Jonker Maria Verschoor Lidewij Welten Caia van Maasakker Maartje Paumen Naomi van As Ellen Hoog Margot van Geffen Eva de Goede | Germany (GER) Nike Lorenz Selin Oruz Anne Schröder Lisa Schütze Charlotte Stapenhorst Katharina Otte Janne Müller-Wieland Hannah Krüger Jana Teschke Lisa Altenburg Franzisca Hauke Cécile Pieper Marie Mävers Annika Sprink Julia Müller Pia-Sophie Oldhafer Kristina Reynolds |