Lausanne, Aug 22 (IANS): The Netherlands won both the men's and women's titles in the EuroHockey Championships 2023 and secured direct qualification to the next year's Olympic Games in Paris.

The Netherlands women, the reigning champions, defended their title against Belgium in the final to lift the continental championship, for a record 12th time. The Dutchmen followed suit, defending their EuroHockey title, beating England 2-1 in a tense final.

Following the Netherlands’ victory in the women’s competition, Belgium, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Spain and Italy will now move on to the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers 2024 where they will get a second opportunity to qualify for the Olympics.

With the Netherlands winning the men’s competition, Great Britain, Belgium, Germany, Spain and Austria made it to the Olympic Qualifiers 2024 where they will get a second opportunity to qualify for Paris.

A total of 12 teams, in each of the men’s and women’s categories, will compete in Hockey at the Olympic Games in Pari next year.

Hosts France have gained direct qualification. Australia (men and women) were winners of the Oceania Cup, which sealed their qualification. Netherlands (men and women) now qualify as the European champions, leaving nine spots up for grabs. The winners of each of the remaining three continental championships in the Americas, Africa and Asia will also gain direct qualification to the upcoming Olympic Games.

The next event will be the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, to be held from September 23 to October 8. The men's and women's winners will grab direct berths to the Olympics.