The Australian men's and women's teams are a good chance of taking Olympic gold in Tokyo, according to Australian Olympian Matthew 'Butters' Butturini.
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The former Kookaburra won a bronze medal at the London Summer Olympics in 2012 and a gold medal at the 2010 Men's Hockey World Cup in Delhi. He will be watching the coverage intently hoping for Australian gold.
Mr Butturini now plays grassroots hockey for the Camden Haven Redbacks in the Men's Premier League and Port City Hockey Club in the Port Macquarie Hastings Hockey Association.
The Kookaburras, the Australian national men's team have their first match against Japan in the men's A pool on Saturday, July 24.
"Japan is probably hard to predict because we haven't seen much of them throughout the year. They are quite an unknown, and have an advantage knowing the pitch and climate," he said.
The Aussies will then face India on July 25, Argentina on July 27, New Zealand on July 28 and Spain on July 30.
"Argentina were quite strong in Rio during 2016 where they won the last Olympic gold. They have had a few changes over the last four years and I wouldn't think they will retain the title," he said.
"India are probably unlikely to be in the semi-finals against the top four teams. I don't think they have had a lot of international games recently.
"Spain played decently in the recent European championships and have a younger group.
"Germany, Holland, Australia and Belgium are probably the four teams I will be looking for in the semi-finals. The experience within their teams and quality of players make them the top four in my opinion.
"I think Australia are a good chance to take gold, but it will depend on the teams preparedness for Olympics and their exposure to other international teams."
Lucas Villa from Argentina and Australian midfielder Tom Craig will be exciting solo players to watch during the tournament, according to Mr Butturini.
"Lucas Villa is one to watch, he has scored some really good goals over the years. For Australia we have midfielder Tom Craig and he can really break games open with his speed," he said.
The Hockeyroos, Australia's National Women's Hockey Team play Spain on Sunday, July 25 before facing China on July 26.
They will then play Japan on July 28, New Zealand on July 29 and Argentina on July 31.
"The Hockeyroos should be able to take care of China and Spain but Argentina have always been a powerhouse within women's hockey and that might be a competitive game," he said.
"The problem that most of the women's games run into is Holland. The Dutch woman should be favourites to win another gold.
"Despite that, Australia do have a chance in terms of medals and potentially taking it out."
Olympic finals begin on August 1 for the men's and August 2 for the women's. The gold medal matches will be play on August 5 for the men's and August 6 for the women's divisions.
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