Hockey - Team New Zealand

Nickname
Black Sticks

General
New Zealand secured their ticket to the Tokyo Games by defeating the Republic of Korea in a two-match series in the 2019 Men's FIH Olympic Qualifiers. Played on home soil in Stratford, they won the first match 3-2 and the second 3-0 to take a 6-2 aggregate win.

New Zealand have competed at 12 editions of the Olympic Games and won one medal, a gold in Montreal in 1976 where they beat Australia 1-0 in the final. At Rio 2016 they posted victories over hosts Brazil and Belgium in the group stage, as well as a draw against Great Britain, but suffered defeats to Australia and Spain before being eliminated in the quarterfinals 3-2 by eventual bronze medallists Germany.

The New Zealand team are yet to finish in the top three at the World Cup. At the most recent edition of the tournament in 2018 in India, they were eliminated by England at the cross-over stage. In seven appearances at the Champions Trophy between 1978 and 2012, their best finish was fourth [1978, 2011], while they were ranked eighth out of eight teams at the inaugural edition of the Pro League in 2019.

The New Zealanders have won two silver medals at the Commonwealth Games, losing the final to Australia in 2002 and 2018. They also won bronze at the 2010 Games in Delhi.