Captain Thierry Brinkman struck twice as the Netherlands served a superb show of attacking hockey to beat world No.1 Australia 3-1 and clinch the bronze medal in the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup here on Sunday.

Brinkman struck in the 35th and 40th minutes while penalty corner expert Jip Janssen scored the other goal for Netherlands in the 33rd minute.

Australia’s lone goal came from their penalty corner expert Jeremy Hayward in the 13th minute.

Award for Pandian

FIH president Tayyab Ikram presented the FIH President’s Award to V.K Pandian, secretary, Transformational Initiatives (5T), to the chief minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik, for his outstanding contribution to hockey.

“What we have witnessed here in Odisha in the last two weeks is truly exceptional! Not only the state-of-the-art facilities but also the passion showcased by the Odisha people for hockey has been an absolute delight to experience,” Ikram said,

“Together with the chief minister, Pandian has played a pivotal role in making this World Cup such a resounding success. I’m very honoured to present him the FIH President’s Award as a mark of deep gratitude from FIH and myself”, the FIH president stated.

Pandian said: “I am deeply honoured and humbled to receive the FIH President’s Award... I am only the representative of Team Odisha which has put its heart and soul in making this World Cup a grand success”.