Hollie Pearne-Webb believes the British public have been ‘spoiled’ by recent hockey success and called for perspective following a quarter-final defeat against the Netherlands.
Team GB have won women’s hockey medals at each of the last three Olympics, with Belper’s Pearne-Webb part of the squad who won gold in Rio, when she scored the winning penalty in the shootout, and bronze in Tokyo.
Replicating those feats looked unlikely when they were pitted against the all-conquering Dutch in the last eight and the signs looked ominous when Xan de Waard put the reigning champions ahead inside 50 seconds.
Hannah French equalised for a battling GB, whose side also included Derby’s Anna Toman, but Luna Noa Fokke’s double either side of the break settled the outcome as Britain's women followed their male counterparts in exiting at the quarter-final stage.
“I think the British public have been incredibly spoilt over the last three Olympics with the women’s squad,” Pearne-Webb said.
“I wasn’t part of the London squad but for them to medal was incredible. We definitely weren’t expected to medal in Rio let alone get gold and the same in Tokyo getting a bronze.
“It’s not normal to medal at Olympic Games if you look at world rankings. I think that’s sometimes what people forget.
“I’m incredibly proud of the girls and how we’ve shown up. We didn’t roll over.
“A lot of sides could have come in being very fearful in terms of how dominant the Dutch are and we didn’t. We stood up and we fought.”
The Netherlands’ only Olympic defeat in the last two decades came when Pearne-Webb and her teammates beat them to gold in Rio – and even that came following a penalty shootout, with Pearne-Webb responsible for the winning moment.
Their dynasty shows no sign of tailing off any time soon - GB head coach David Ralph described them as ‘arguably the most dominant team in world sport’ – and a fourth gold in five Games looks likely.
“I’m sure they’ll go on and win it,” Pearne-Webb said.
“They’re the number one side in the world for a reason.
“They’ve got a lot of strength and depth back home and the amount of people that play hockey in Holland – that’s something I would love to see happen in Great Britain.”
The defeat is set to mark the end of an era for British hockey, with Laura Roper – who has earned nearly 300 caps across her England and GB career – announcing she would retire after the Games.
Pearne-Webb, 33, would not be drawn on whether she would take the same path as she weighs up her own future.
“I need some time to have a rest and think about it,” she said.
“It’s been a bit of a year for me. To just be here was a huge achievement but clearly being here is not enough. We wanted to do more.
“I’ll have a bit of a break, reset, play for club and we shall see.”
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