Tarryn Lombard and Ryan Julius Seal African Hockey Road to Paris Qualification for South Africa

• African Hockey hosted their Road to Paris Olympic qualification tournament in Pretoria
• South Africa's men had defeated Ghana in the semi-final to set up a decider with Egypt
• The women's semi-finals featured Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana and hosts South Africa

South Africa's men's and women's hockey teams have booked their spot at the 2024 Olympics.

Playing in front of a capacity crowd at the University of Pretoria, the women eased past Nigeria in the final while the men had a tight encounter with Egypt.

Nigeria's women qualified for the final thanks to a 1-0 win over Kenya while South Africa beat Ghana 7-0 in their semi.

South Africa were dominant from the outset, going into an early lead and finishing the first half with a six-goal lead.

Tarryn Lombard scored a hat-trick before Paris-Gail Isaacs scored her first international goal. The final quarter saw Kristen Paton score South Africa’s ninth goal and wrap up the victory for the South Africans by a score of 9-0.

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Player of the match, Lombard said after the final:

“Scoring a goal in the final is the stuff of dreams, let alone a hat-trick. We are incredibly pleased to qualify for the Olympic Games, the hard work starts here and I can’t wait to get started.”

The men faced a much sterner test in their final against a well-drilled Egyptian team.

The final was level at 1-1 with four minutes to play when Ryan Julius scored what looked to be the winner, only for Egypt to equalise with 30 seconds on the clock.

In a dramatic twist, the goal was disallowed due to a foot infringement, sending the home crowd into hysterics.

Match-winner Julius told SA Hockey:

"I was in the right place at the right time and I couldn’t be happier. It was a sensational moment in front of a sensational crowd!”

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Road to the final

Sports Brief recently reported on the respective African nation's road to the final.

Nigeria's women were playing in the competition for the first time and secured second place.

Ghana also had a successful tournament, with both the men and women making the semi-finals.