Netherlands

The Netherlands opened their campaign for a third successive Champions Trophy field hockey title with a 5-2 win over New Zealand on Saturday.
The Dutch, held 2-2 till the 45th minute, unleashed three goals before the final whistle to gain full points at the start of the round-robin league in the six-nation tournament.

Penalty corner specialist Taeke Taekema led the way for the tournament favourites, scoring the first goal in the 25th minute and the fourth in the 51st.

Ronald Brouwer, Rob Reckers and Karel Klaver were the other scorers for the Dutch, who are seeking a Champions Trophy hat-trick as consolation for their loss in the Athens Olympics final to Australia.

New Zealand, who finished sixth at Athens, drew level twice through Bevan Hari and Ryan Archibald before crumbling in the last quarter.

"It is always good to start a tournament with a win," said Dutch coach Terry Walsh.

"It took time to settle down but I thought we played very well in the second half."

The Netherlands play India next on Sunday. New Zealand take on hosts Pakistan the same day.

Germany and Spain are the other two teams competing in the six-nation event. The top two from the league will qualify for the final on December 12.

Olympic champions Australia pulled out of the tournament citing security concerns based on a travel advisory from their government.

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