TOKYO, Aug 6 ― For hockey players the Olympics are the ultimate stage at which they can showcase their skills in the hope of transferring to a club in a competitive league, such as those in Europe.
“The thing about the Olympic Games is that there's a kind of agreement that players are at their best at this particular time,” said Shane McLeod, who led Belgium's men team to their first Olympic gold on Thursday as their head coach.South Africa teenage prodigy Mustaphaa Cassiem won the hearts of global hockey fans when he scored against Belgium and the Netherlands at Tokyo 2020 and made the winning goal in his country's 4-3 triumph over Germany.
“They've got some speed on them and real skill,” Belgium's Arthur van Doren, 2017 world player of the year, said about South Africa.“I think it's extremely important to show high-quality play here,” said Maho Segawa, 25, a mid-fielder for Japan's women team.