News The unveiling of the new Olympic pitch in the colours of the Brazilian flag was a hint of what was to come By the end of the Rio 2016 hockey test event on Saturday (28 November), the sport – previously little known in a country mad about football and volleyball – had captured the hearts of many of the Brazilians present Among the new converts was 48-year-old Jairo Oliveira, who volunteered at the Aquece Rio International Hockey event from Tuesday to Saturday “I knew nothing about hockey before but I love it now,” he said “It’s such an intense, emotional sport I took time off from work to volunteer here and I will do the same next year, when I hope to come to the hockey again”Jairo Oliveira, volunteer Brazilians were smitten by the speed and emotion of the game (Photo: Rio 2016/Alexandre Loureiro) “What’s not to love about hockey?” said David Luckes, director of sport at the International Hockey Federation (FIH) and a former Great Britain goalkeeper “It’s fast, exciting, played by both men and women, it is easy to understand We know that Brazilians love team sports, so we hope to have a lot of people coming out here to Deodoro to watch, be inspired by the hockey and hopefully take up the sport after the Games ”Go hockey crazy with our interactive infographicIt helped that the host nation topped the podium, and in dramatic fashion The Brazilian men’s team won the final on Saturday, triumphing over top-ranked Chile 3-2 in a penalty shoot-out after the match ended 2-2 “It was really emotional,” said Matheus Borges, who scored the decisive penalty wearing the no 10 shirt that resonates so much in Brazil “My mission is to score goals, so I have to score If I am managing to do that, it’s a good sign ”Borges is mobbed by team-mates after scoring the winning penalty (Photo: Rio 2016/Alexandre Loureiro) This success should help the team, who have qualified for the Olympic tournament next year, win over some much-needed new fans Goalkeeper Rodrigo Faustino revealed last week that they sometimes pretend rival fans are cheering for them, such is the lack of support they have received The test event featured 144 players in eight teams from seven countries, and the reaction to the new venue was unanimous “We are very impressed, the structure here is excellent,” said Claudia Ardiles, captain of the silver-medal winning Peruvian women’s team “The pitches are beautiful, we don’t have one like this in Peru Everyone who worked here was very friendly and the organisation was superb ”     Trinidad & Tobago took bronze in the men’s tournament with 3-1 over Mexico In the women’s final, Barbados beat Peru 3-0, with Paraguay denying Brazil the bronze with a 2-1 win “We are very happy with the venue, it’s great, the turf especially,” said Tricia-Ann Greaves, who scored one of Barbados’s goals in Saturday’s final Barbados overcame Peru in the women's final (Photo: Rio 2016/Alexandre Loureiro) Rio 2016 tested 25 elements of its operations during the event, with highlights being medical services and results, which were operated as they will be during the Olympic Games “Everything that we had to test was tested and approved,” said Luciano Elias, Rio 2016 hockey venue manager “The outcome was very positive, and this is thanks to the integration of the teams who worked there The players, including the two-times Olympic champions Holland who visited, and international federation were very satisfied with the pitches and facilities ”Dutch golden girls of hockey drop in at new Rio 2016 Olympic Games venueLet’s get this party started Barbados celebrate gold(Photo: Rio 2016/Alexandre Loureiro) (Photo: Rio 2016/Alexandre Loureiro) (Photo: Rio 2016/Alexandre Loureiro) And the Peruvians were pretty happy with silver too (Photo: Rio 2016/Alexandre Loureiro)