Maddie Hinch claims she lives for moments like the gold medal penalty shootout in Rio which etched her name in sporting history.

The Holcombe keeper almost single-handedly earned GB women victory in the Olympic hockey final with an imperious display and four penalty saves to beat the Netherlands last Friday night.

Holcs team-mates Sam Quek, Nic White and Shona McCallin played their part as GB withstood a battering from the double Olympic champions, only for White’s late strike to ensure a 3-3 draw and penalties.

Hinch – who is moving to play in Holland for SCHC next season – was the star for GB with a string of saves to keep the 2008 and 2012 gold medallists at bay during normal time and then proved unbeatable in the shootout, allowing Hollie Webb to spark wild scenes with the crucial conversion after Helen Richardson-Walsh had held her nerve to open the scoring.

Hinch admitted: “I do enjoy those situations. You have to. As a keeper, if you fear it you’ll probably not do too well.

“We’ve been through a lot of them and I’ve had a lot of practice. I put a lot of pressure on myself to save at least three and then the girls know they only have to score a couple.

“It was a great chance for me to step up and do my bit for the team. I live for those sort of moments.”

Hinch added: “It’s been an unbelievable experience. It’s the fashion in which we’ve done it too, to win eight games out of eight and to beat the Olympic champions as well who were going for three straight golds.

“We feel like we have represented the sport well and we have hopefully inspired a few more people to go out and pick up a hockey stick –which for us was the main thing."