FINLAND edged past defending champion the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) 2-1 to get its first Olympic ice hockey gold medal at Beijing 2022 in the men’s final yesterday. It was the last medal to be decided at the Winter Games. Before the final, Finland, the second in the world rankings, has never won an Olympic gold medal since it entered the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) family during the Olympics in St. Moritz in 1928. Twice before the Finns had contested the final, at the 1988 Calgary Games and 2006 Turin Olympics, and came up short but the third time proved the charm. World No. 3 ROC edged past Germany 4-3 in overtime at Pyeongchang 2018, and it fell 3-1 to Finland in the quarterfinals at Sochi 2014. Russian forward Mikhail Grigorenko, 27, put the puck into the net to break the deadlock at 7:17 in the power play, before Finland struck back with an equalizer at 23:28 by 27-year-old defender Ville Pokka. Finland’s forward Hannes Bjorninen scored at 40:31 to seal the victory. “Ice hockey is a big thing in Finland, and we have come close a couple of times and it is finally nice to get the first one. I thought we played a great tournament and this is the reward,” said Valterri Filppula, the captain of Finland. The Finns won all five games before the final, and defeated Slovakia 2-0 in the semifinals, while the Russians edged past Sweden 2-1 in the shootout to reach the final. In the bronze medal match Saturday, Slovakia claimed bronze after beating Sweden 4-0 after two goals from teenage sensation Juraj Slafkovsky. Finland has made regular appearances on the Olympic podium, returning home with a medal from five of the previous seven Games, but until yesterday had never reached the top step. On winning Finland’s first Olympic ice hockey gold medal, Harri Pesonen said: “It’s pretty surreal. It’s the first ever for our country in hockey so for sure we made history. Right now it’s still a bit of an empty feeling. It’s over and I’m surprisingly calm right now. I think that all of the emotions will come later.” Arseni Gritsyuk, from ROC, said about winning his first Olympic medal: “There is emptiness. It is a bitter loss. I have to recharge now and return to the club with new emotions.” (SD-Xinhua) | 