The Paris 1924 Olympic Stadium,the Yves-du-Manoir in Colombes, renovated for Paris 2024, was packed to the rafters in the crucial moments and the passionate crowd cheered throughout the tournament as the best hockey in the world was on display.

The brilliance of Pirmin Blaak was crucial to the Dutch team's first Olympic gold in 24 years. The goalkeeper was the key to a dramatic penalty shootout victory over Germany after a 1-1 draw in normal time.

The reigning FIH Hockey Stars Goalkeeper of the Year made three spectacular saves to deny the Germans the gold medal after a 24-year drought and relegated world champions Germany to second place.

The story of Gonzalo Peillat, an Argentine who became a naturalised German, was a fascinating one. Peillat won Olympic gold at Rio 2016 (scoring against Germany in the semi-finals) and came close to winning a second, but this time he was playing for a different team and facing his former teammates (even scoring from a penalty corner). Despite criticism in Argentina for his goal celebrations, Peillat, now representing Germany, had an excellent tournament, even if he couldn't crown his performance with another gold medal, which would have been a rare achievement in elite world sport.

"For me, the Olympic Games are the only way to really make history in sport," said Dutch coach Jeroen Delmee.

The surprise package in the men's competition at Paris 2024 was Spain, who reached the semi-finals but couldn't capitalise on their medal chances. In the bronze medal match, the Europeans lost 2-1 to India, who overturned the scoreline with an outstanding performance from captain Harmanpreet Singh, who scored twice to secure India's second consecutive Olympic bronze medal.

"We have made history again, two consecutive bronze medals. It's a great day for India and a great day for hockey. We were here for the gold but unfortunately that dream has been shattered," said India captain Harmanpreet after the match, emphasising the significance of the bronze for the Asian team.

In the women's competition, glory also went to the Netherlands, who became the first nation in history to win both men's and women's Olympic hockey gold medals at the same Games.

Despite being the reigning Olympic, World, European and FIH Hockey Pro League champions and heavy favourites (having won 49 of their last 51 matches, losing only once), China stunned the Dutch in the final, taking them to penalties after a 1-1 draw in regulation time.

In the shoot-out, the world's best (in terms of dominance in the sport), perhaps comparable to the United States basketball team with its NBA megastars in terms of titles and distance from rivals, further cemented their legacy with a 3-1 victory and a fifth consecutive gold medal.

It was a special moment for Netherlands head coach Paul Van Ass, who led his team to glory just one day after his son Seve won gold as a player for the men's team, making it a double celebration for a hockey-loving family.

Ahead of the final at Paris 2024, another team with an Olympic pedigree, albeit a more modest one than the Netherlands, was Argentina. "Las Leonas managed to do in the penalty shootout what they couldn't do in normal time (2-2) against Belgium, a match in which they were the better side, even when they were a man down in the dying minutes.

Young Argentine goalkeeper Cristina Cosentino was brilliant in the shootout, beaten only once in four attempts by the Belgians, while Lara Casas, teenager Zoe Diaz de Armas and Sofía Cairo scored the decisive goals to secure Argentina's sixth Olympic medal of the century. The team has successfully moved on from the era of Luciana Aymar, the greatest player in history, and has both a promising future and a glorious present.

"We played eight games and lost only once, to the best team, the Netherlands. I'm very happy because this team gave everything, but I also want to congratulate Belgium because they have a great team. They are fighters; it was very hard (to play against them). Now we want to celebrate, enjoy this moment with our families and the fans, who are incredible," said Argentina's Agustina Albertarrio.

Final standings:

Women:

1st Netherlands, 2nd China, 3rd Argentina, 4th Belgium, 5th Australia, 6th Germany, 7th Spain, 8th Great Britain, 9th USA, 10th Japan, 11th South Africa, 12th France. 

Men:

1st Netherlands, 2nd Germany, 3rd India, 4th Spain, 5th Belgium, 6th Australia, 7th Great Britain, 8th Argentina, 9th South Africa, 10th Ireland, 11th France, 12th New Zealand.