The Champions triumph, a 3-1 win over Pakistan, meant the Dutch became the only side to hold the three top hockey titles, having won the Olympic gold in Atlanta in 1996.

The Indians showed great powers of recovery by taking the Asian Games title in December, thus qualifying for the 2000 Olympics, and another of the great underachievers of the sport -- Australia -- rid themselves of their nickname of the `Chokerburras' for the `Kookaburras' when they took the Commonwealth Games gold in September.

The Australian `hockeyroos', coached by former Federal legislator, Sheffield Shield cricketer and hockey legend Ric Charlesworth, dominated the women's events, winning the World Cup with a narrow 3-2 verdict over the Dutch and the Commonwealth Games title.

The Dutch men, though, werethe stars of the show as they set their fans on fire in the little Dutch town of Utrecht, beating the valiant Spaniards 3-2 with a Teun de Nooijer golden goal in extra-time to take their first World Cup title since 1990.

It was a remarkable comeback for the Dutch as they had been 2-0 down against Spain's counter-attack specialists. But then their penalty corner specialist, big Bram Lomans, stepped forward and the match turned their way.After their inspirational captain Stephan Veen had reduced the deficit, Lomans, whose lumberjack physique belies his eloquent play, levelled the match with nine minutes to go.

And despite some heroics by Spanish 'keeper Ramon Dufresa, the inspirational de Nooijer smashed Spanish dreams in the 14th minute of sudden death extra-time.

It was the second time in a major final that the Dutch had come from behind to beat Spain, who were runners-up in the inaugural World Cup in 1971.In the Atlanta Olympic Games final, they came from a goal down to win 3-1.

The outcome was allthe more remarkable because the Dutch had been humiliated 5-1 by the Germans in the pool stages. But whereas the Dutch got better, the Germans could only manage the third place, beating Australia 1-0 after losing to Spain in the semi-finals.

The Australians, coached by Terry Walsh, looked to have mastered their nerves when they grabbed one of the two last four spots by eliminating holders Pakistan but then were crushed 6-2 by the Dutch in the semis, leaving Walsh shell-shocked, though he still defended his players to the hilt.

"I am proud to be associated with this bunch of players and they are not chokers. They were just outplayed, simple as that," Walsh said.

Walsh stuck by most of his grizzled and frazzled veterans and was rewarded for his faith when they trounced Malaysia, whom Walsh had previously coached, 4-0 in the Commonwealth Games final in Kuala Lumpur.

Walsh was more fortunate than some of his counterparts as Pakistani manager Islahuddin and Indian helmsman Vasudevan Baskaran paid the pricefor World Cup failure.

Islahuddin, who had been reluctant to take the post anyway, fought constant battles with his mercurial geniuses Shahbaz Ahmed and Ahmed's brother-in-law Tahir Zaman, the team captain -- both of whom retired after they finished fifth in the World Cup.

For Shahbaz, who showed flashes of genius throughout the tournament but not enough in the view of his manager, it was really the final bow after several previous attempts at retiring despite mischievous rumours that he and Zaman would be returning for the Commonwealth Games.

Baskaran, who had led the junior side to the 1997 World Cup final, despaired with his side that had too many veterans who had apparently lost all appetite for the game and they ended a humiliating ninth.

"Our players lack the mental toughness that other teams have. We just do not have the strength to come back from goals down... They're just not good enough," Baskaran said.

However, despite writing a full report on the weaknesses in the Indian system, it wasthe coach who was forced out and the veterans who remained for the Commonwealth and the Asian Games.

The most notable survivor was Dhanraj Pillay, who went from being clearly unfit at the World Cup to scoring their only goal in the Asian Games final with South Korea -- India winning 4-2 on penalty strokes after the match finished 1-1.

It was the Indians' first major title in 18 years since winning the last of their eight Olympic gold medals at Moscow in 1980 and their first Asian Games crown since 1966.

While the Indians celebrated a remarkable turnaround in their fortunes, it was the Pakistanis who were left to contemplate difficult times ahead as the Asian Games bronze was not enough for automatic Olympic qualification.

They face a tough qualifying competition if they are to join their bitter rivals at the top table of hockey in the year 2000.