Asian teams were blown away in the strong Athens winds as the Olympic men's field hockey opened on Sunday with convincing wins for the chief title contenders.
The Netherlands, seeking a third successive gold medal, brushed aside former champions India 3-1 after ace midfielder Teun de Nooijer set up one goal and scored another himself.
As the 'Meltemia' winds from the nearby sea savaged the Helliniko hockey stadium, world champions Germany thwarted a spirited fightback by Pakistan to win 2-1.
South Korea compounded Asia's misery by being held to a 1-1 draw by Spain, narrowly avoiding defeat only because Xavier Ribas missed a penalty stroke.
Meanwhile, Jamie Dwyer scored the first hat-trick of the competition as Australia began another journey for the elusive Olympic gold with a 4-1 rout of trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand.
South Africa came from behind to defeat Argentina 2-1 following a two-goal burst in as many minutes by star striker Greg Nicol.
And Britain rounded off an engrossing opening day with a 3-1 defeat of Egypt, goals coming from Barry Middleton, Guy Fordham and Ben Hawes.
Pakistan, coached by Dutch mastermind Roelent Oltmans, at least had reason to smile in defeat as they gave the Germans a scare of their lives.
Germany, the strongest challengers to the Netherlands for the gold medal, appeared set for an easy outing when they ran up a 2-0 lead by half-time of the group A match.
But Pakistan, lifted by vociferous support from some 5,000 supporters, hit back hard in the second session to narrow the margin through Rehan Butt.
Pakistan were left to rue two missed opportunities by their penalty corner specialist Sohail Abbas, who pushed his first set-piece chance over the goal-post and hit the second one wide.
Pakistan's assistant coach Tahir Zaman said he was disappointed at the defeat, but not disheartened.
"We matched the world champions, but let slip a few chances," Zaman said.
"The game could have gone either way, it was that close.
"It will not be right to blame Sohail for the defeat. No one can score in every match. Hopefully he will do it in the matches to come."
HOLLAND V INDIA: Eight-time champions India, playing under their first foreign coach, Gerhard Rach, proved no match for the Netherlands, who won gold medals at Atlanta in 1996 and again in Sydney four years later.
The defending champions led 1-0 at half time following a second-minute goal by Marten Eikelboom from a pass by De Nooijer.
De Nooijer scored himself in the 50th minute, while Teake Taekema smashed in a penalty corner four minutes later.
Gagan Ajit Singh scored a last-minute consolation goal through a penalty corner, but it was evident coach Rach needed to work more on his new wards.
Rach took over barely three weeks before the Olympics from Rajinder Singh, the 14th coach fired by the Indian Hockey Federation in the last eleven years.
"The early goal set us back and the boys became nervous," said Rach. "They were too impatient to score and that messed up their game."
AUSTRALIA V NEW ZEALAND: Australia, the best team never to have won the Olympic gold despite gaining a semifinal berth in the last five competitions since 1984, were given a rousing start by Dywer.
Australian coach Barry Dancer admitted the jinx of an Olympic gold haunts his team. "We have addressed the issue from time to time, it just can't be ignored," Dancer said.
RESULTS:
SOUTH KOREA 1 VS SPAIN 1:
South Korea - You Hyo-sik 16
Spain - Santiago Freixa 43 PC
GERMANY 2 VS PAKISTAN 1:
Germany - Bjoern Emmerling 7, Bjoern Michel 31
Pakistan - Rehan Butt 43
BRITAIN 3 VS EGYPT 1:
Britain - Barry Middleton 18, Guy Fordham 53, Ben Hawes 59 PC
Egypt - Sameh Mohamed 37 PC
AUSTRALIA 4 VS NEW ZEALAND 1:
Australia - Troy Elder 15 PC, Jamie Dwyer 24, Jamie Dwyer 42,
Jamie Dwyer 60
New Zealand - Darren Smith 58 PC
SOUTH AFRICA 2 VS ARGENTINA 1:
South Africa - Greg Nicol 38 PC, Greg Nicol 41
Argentina - Mario Almada 10
NETHERLANDS 3 VS INDIA 1:
Netherlands - Marten Eikelboom 2, Teun De Nooijer 50, Teake
Taekema 54 PC
India - Gagan Ajit Singh 69 PC
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