Olympic hockey: Great Britain’s women beaten by Netherlands in quarter-finals

Great Britain’s women will leave the Olympics without a hockey medal for the first time since 2008 after a 3-1 quarter-final loss to the Netherlands.

GB won bronze at London 2012, took a memorable gold in Rio in 2016 when they beat the Netherlands in a shootout, and claimed bronze in Tokyo three years ago.

However, they faced a tough task in Paris against the defending Olympic champions, who are the world’s top-ranked side.

Great Britain came back from an early 1-0 deficit, having conceded inside the first minute, but their opponents’ high tempo and attacking play ultimately won through.

Several of the British players fell to their knees as the clock ticked down, both emotionally and physically drained on a hot evening at the Yves-du-Manoir Stadium.

Captain Hollie Pearne-Webb said it was unrealistic to expect Great Britain to win medals at every Olympics.

“I think the British public have been incredibly spoilt over the past three Olympics with the women’s squad,” she said.

“It’s not normal to medal at an Olympic Games, if you look at the world rankings. I think sometimes that’s what people forget.”

Laura Roper, Britain’s most decorated player having won a gold and two bronze medals, confirmed her retirement from international hockey.

“I decided 12 months ago that this was always going to be my last year with GB,” said the 36-year-old.

“So I will be retiring. It’s tough right now. There’s a whole load of emotions.”

The Netherlands, who are heavy gold-medal favourites, will play Argentina – who beat Germany earlier on Monday – in the semi-finals.

Britain’s men also suffered a narrow quarter-final exit, losing 4-2 to 10-man India in a shootout on Sunday.