MADRID, 9 October 2006 — The Netherlands won their sixth women’s World Cup hockey crown after a second-half double from Maartje Paumen and a classy finish from Sylvia Karres earned them a 3-1 victory over Australia in the final yesterday.
The thoroughly deserved victory broke a run of two final defeats for the Dutch in the last two editions of the tournament and allowed them to claim their first World Cup since 1990.
The Dutch were given further reason to celebrate when captain Minke Booij was named World Player of the Year after the match.
Earlier, Argentina, who the beat the Dutch after a penalty shoot-out in the 2002 final, won the bronze medal when they trounced hosts Spain 5-0. Australia and the Netherlands played some fluent hockey in the opening minutes at the Club de Campo but neither side was able to create a clear threat on goal as the two defenses stood firm. The Netherlands stepped up a gear after a quarter of an hour and Kim Lammers almost deflected a shot in at the near post, while Eefke Mulder sent a powerful shot just wide moments later.
