| Date | 11 – 23 August 2008 | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Olympic | |
| Location | Beijing Aolinpike Gongyuan Qugunqiu Chang, Beijing Aolinpike Gongyuan, Beijing | |
| Participants | 196 from 12 countries | |
| Format | Round-robin pools advance teams to classification round matches. | |
Before the Olympic hockey tournament even began, one hockey nation was already in shock. India, which had always competed since their debut in 1928, was eliminated by Great-Britain in one of the qualifying tournaments. Although the last medal of the 8-time Olympic champion had been back in 1980, their failure to qualify was considered an upset on the subcontinent.
India’s absence did not affect the list of favourites, which consisted of the traditional powerhouses Australia, Germany, Netherlands and Spain. Germany had won the last two World Cups, as well as the 2007 Champions Trophy. However, they had trouble qualifying at the European Championships. At that event, Belgium, which had not competed since 1976, took the bronze ahead of Germany, forcing the World Champions to one of the three Qualifying Tournaments. Of the other favorites, the Dutch team had won the 2007 Europeans, beating Spain, while defending Olympic champion Australia had lost the past two World Cup finals to the Germans.
The round robin stage went pretty much as expected, with the four favourites going through to the semi-finals. Both contests were close affairs. Germany only defeated the Netherlands after a penalty shootout, while Spain came back from 0-2 behind to dismiss Australia 3-2. The final was not as exciting, both teams playing defensively. A single penalty corner, scored by Christopher Zeller, gave Germany the decisive lead after 16 minutes. Germany’s title added a new chapter in the family history of the Kellers. Striker Florian Keller joined his grandfather, father, brother and sister as Olympic medallists.
| Date | 11 – 19 August 2008 |
|---|
| Date | 11 – 19 August 2008 |
|---|---|
| Format | Round-robin pool. |
| Pos | Team | NOC | Wins | Ties | Losses | Points | Goals | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spain | ESP | 4 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 9-5 | ||
| 2 | Germany | GER | 3 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 12-6 | ||
| 3 | Republic of Korea | KOR | 2 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 13-11 | ||
| 4 | New Zealand | NZL | 2 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 10-9 | ||
| 5 | Belgium | BEL | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 9-13 | ||
| 6 | People's Republic of China | CHN | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 7-16 |
| Match | Date/Time | Location | Team | NOC | Result | Team | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 11 Aug 8:30 | Pitch 1 | Germany | GER | 4 – 1 | People's Republic of China | CHN | |
| Match #2 | 11 Aug 18:00 | Pitch 2 | New Zealand | NZL | 3 – 1 | Republic of Korea | KOR | |
| Match #3 | 11 Aug 20:30 | Pitch 2 | Spain | ESP | 4 – 2 | Belgium | BEL | |
| Match #4 | 13 Aug 10:30 | Pitch 1 | Republic of Korea | KOR | 5 – 2 | People's Republic of China | CHN | |
| Match #5 | 13 Aug 18:30 | Pitch 1 | Belgium | BEL | 1 – 1 | Germany | GER | |
| Match #6 | 13 Aug 20:30 | Pitch 2 | Spain | ESP | 1 – 0 | New Zealand | NZL | |
| Match #7 | 15 Aug 8:30 | Pitch 1 | Spain | ESP | 2 – 1 | People's Republic of China | CHN | |
| Match #8 | 15 Aug 18:00 | Pitch 2 | New Zealand | NZL | 4 – 2 | Belgium | BEL | |
| Match #9 | 15 Aug 20:30 | Pitch 2 | Germany | GER | 3 – 3 | Republic of Korea | KOR | |
| Match #10 | 17 Aug 10:30 | Pitch 1 | Republic of Korea | KOR | 3 – 1 | Belgium | BEL | |
| Match #11 | 17 Aug 18:30 | Pitch 1 | People's Republic of China | CHN | 2 – 2 | New Zealand | NZL | |
| Match #12 | 17 Aug 21:00 | Pitch 1 | Germany | GER | 1 – 0 | Spain | ESP | |
| Match #13 | 19 Aug 10:30 | Pitch 1 | Germany | GER | 3 – 1 | New Zealand | NZL | |
| Match #14 | 19 Aug 18:30 | Pitch 1 | Spain | ESP | 2 – 1 | Republic of Korea | KOR | |
| Match #15 | 19 Aug 21:00 | Pitch 1 | Belgium | BEL | 3 – 1 | People's Republic of China | CHN |
| Date | 11 – 19 August 2008 |
|---|---|
| Format | Round-robin pool. |
| Pos | Team | NOC | Wins | Ties | Losses | Points | Goals | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Netherlands | NED | 4 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 16-6 | ||
| 2 | Australia | AUS | 3 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 24-7 | ||
| 3 | Great Britain | GBR | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 10-7 | ||
| 4 | Pakistan | PAK | 2 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 11-13 | ||
| 5 | Canada | CAN | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 10-17 | ||
| 6 | South Africa | RSA | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 4-25 |
| Match | Date/Time | Location | Team | NOC | Result | Team | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 11 Aug 10:30 | Pitch 1 | Great Britain | GBR | 4 – 2 | Pakistan | PAK | |
| Match #2 | 11 Aug 18:30 | Pitch 1 | Australia | AUS | 6 – 1 | Canada | CAN | |
| Match #3 | 11 Aug 21:00 | Pitch 1 | Netherlands | NED | 5 – 0 | South Africa | RSA | |
| Match #4 | 13 Aug 8:30 | Pitch 1 | Australia | AUS | 10 – 0 | South Africa | RSA | |
| Match #5 | 13 Aug 18:00 | Pitch 2 | Pakistan | PAK | 3 – 1 | Canada | CAN | |
| Match #6 | 13 Aug 21:00 | Pitch 1 | Netherlands | NED | 1 – 0 | Great Britain | GBR | |
| Match #7 | 15 Aug 10:30 | Pitch 1 | Netherlands | NED | 4 – 2 | Canada | CAN | |
| Match #8 | 15 Aug 18:30 | Pitch 1 | Australia | AUS | 3 – 1 | Pakistan | PAK | |
| Match #9 | 15 Aug 21:00 | Pitch 1 | Great Britain | GBR | 2 – 0 | South Africa | RSA | |
| Match #10 | 17 Aug 8:30 | Pitch 1 | Canada | CAN | 1 – 1 | Great Britain | GBR | |
| Match #11 | 17 Aug 18:00 | Pitch 2 | Pakistan | PAK | 3 – 1 | South Africa | RSA | |
| Match #12 | 17 Aug 20:30 | Pitch 2 | Australia | AUS | 2 – 2 | Netherlands | NED | |
| Match #13 | 19 Aug 8:30 | Pitch 1 | Netherlands | NED | 4 – 2 | Pakistan | PAK | |
| Match #14 | 19 Aug 18:00 | Pitch 2 | Canada | CAN | 5 – 3 | South Africa | RSA | |
| Match #15 | 19 Aug 20:30 | Pitch 2 | Australia | AUS | 3 – 3 | Great Britain | GBR |
| Date | 21 August 2008 |
|---|---|
| Format | Winners of each match advanced to final round. |
| Match | Date/Time | Location | Competitors | NOC | Result | Competitors | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 21 Aug 18:00 | Pitch 1 | Germany | GER | 1 – 1 | Netherlands | NED | ASDET, 4-3 PS |
| Match #2 | 21 Aug 20:30 | Pitch 1 | Spain | ESP | 3 – 2 | Australia | AUS |
| Date | 21 – 23 August 2008 |
|---|---|
| Format | Medal round. |
| Match | Date/Time | Location | Competitors | NOC | Result | Competitors | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match 1/2 | 23 Aug 20:30 | Pitch 1 | Germany | GER | 1 – 0 | Spain | ESP | |
| Match 3/4 | 23 Aug 18:00 | Pitch 1 | Australia | AUS | 6 – 2 | Netherlands | NED | |
| Match 5/6 | 23 Aug 11:00 | Pitch 1 | Great Britain | GBR | 5 – 2 | Republic of Korea | KOR | |
| Match 7/8 | 21 Aug 11:00 | Pitch 1 | New Zealand | NZL | 4 – 2 | Pakistan | PAK | |
| Match 9/10 | 21 Aug 8:30 | Pitch 1 | Belgium | BEL | 3 – 0 | Canada | CAN | |
| Match 11/12 | 23 Aug 8:30 | Pitch 1 | People's Republic of China | CHN | 4 – 3 | South Africa | RSA | ASDET |