Thijs van dam

Thijs Van Dam: The Netherlands registered an emphatic 4-0 victory against Spain in the first semifinal of the men’s hockey event of the 33rd Olympic Games at the Yves-du-Manoir Stadium here on Tuesday. The win has guaranteed a medal for the Dutch as they will play either India or Germany in the gold medal l depending on the result of the second semifinal due to be played later in the day.

Gold medallists in back-to-back Games in 1996 at Atlanta and 2000 at Sydney, the Netherlands had won silver medals in Athens 2004 and London 2012, Holland are assured of winning their 10th medal in the Olympics and will be fighting for the third gold medal.

In the semifinals played on Tuesday, the Spaniards struggled to get into goal-scoring positions with their best chances coming through the five penalty corners they won but failed to convert any. The Netherlands on the other hand were ruthless in front of the goal and converted four of their 11 attempts at goal.