Kookaburras to open Tokyo 2020 against hosts

The world number one Kookaburras will take centre stage in the opening match of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics hockey tournament after being scheduled first up against hosts Japan.

The match schedule for the men’s and women’s Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 hockey competitions was revealed at a press briefing tonight in Tokyo.

The Kookaburras’ mouthwatering opening encounter against Japan will take place on Saturday 25 July 2020 at 10:30am AEST in front of what is sure to a be a full Oi Hockey Stadium.

After Japan, the Kookaburras take on eight time Olympic gold medalists India on Sunday 26 July before facing reigning Olympic champions Argentina.

“To be scheduled against the Olympic host nation to start the tournament is really exciting for our group and will be a great way to launch our campaign,” said Kookaburras Head Coach Colin Batch.

“The Olympics is the pinnacle of our sport so we know the magnitude of the challenge in front of us and with the schedule now released, we can start to plan and prepare accordingly for what is ahead.

The Hockeyroos’ first match of Tokyo 2020 is against Spain (ranked 7^th) on Sunday 26 July (11:00am AEST).

The world number two ranked Hockeyroos will be back in action the following day against China, who they played against during the Tokyo Test Event earlier this year.

“There are no easy matches at the Olympics, and coupled with how tight and closely contested international women’s hockey is at the moment, we will have to be at our best for every match we play,” said Hockeyroos Head Coach Paul Gaudoin.

“All of the countries in our group are capable of beating anyone in the world on any given day so we need to make sure we prepare as best we can over the next eight months to make sure we are in the best possible condition, both physically and mentally.”

The Men’s and Women’s Gold medal matches will take place on 6 and 7 August respectively.

The format of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 hockey tournaments sees the 12 competing teams split into two pools where they play in a round robin format.

The top four teams in each pool proceed to the quarter finals with the winners progressing to the medal rounds.

The full match schedule of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic hockey tournaments as well as the pools – which were confirmed last month - can be viewed here. The matches will be staged in the brand-new Oi Hockey Stadium.

Full ticketing information is available here.

Tokyo 2020 Olympics schedule

Kookaburras

Saturday 25 July v Japan (9:30am local, 10:30am AEST)

Sunday 26 July v India (6:30pm local, 7:30pm AEST)

Tuesday 28 July v Argentina (9:30am local, 10:30am AEST)

Wednesday 29 July v New Zealand (9:15pm local, 10:15pm AEST)

Friday 31 July v Spain (10:00am local, 11:00am AEST)

Quarter Finals (Sunday 2 August)

Semi Finals (Tuesday 4 August)

Medal Matches (Thursday 6 August)

Hockeyroos

Sunday 26 July v Spain (10:00am local, 11:00am AEST)

Monday 27 July v China (12:15pm local, 1:15pm AEST)

Wednesday 29 July v Japan (6:30pm local, 7:30pm AEST)

Thursday 30 July v New Zealand (9:15pm local, 10:15pm AEST)

Saturday 1 August v Argentina (11:45am local, 12:45pm AEST)

Quarter Finals (Monday 3 August)

Semi Finals (Wednesday 5 August)

Medal Matches (Friday 7 August)