Women's Hockey Day 1 Preview: Netherlands hope to take gold from Germany

Updated: 2008-08-10 01:44:00

(BEIJING, August 9) -- The Netherlands, winners of seven World Cup titles and five Champions Trophy tournaments and World No. 1, will be hoping to upstage defending champions Germany in the Women's Hockey competition of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, which gets underway at the Olympic Green Hockey Stadium on August 10.

Their challenge will begin with a match against South Africa, who is competing in the Olympic Games for the third time. The Netherlands won silver at the Olympics four years ago and bronze in Sydney in 2000 and Atlanta in 1996. The Dutch team has a strong squad across defence, midfield and attack. Under the guidance of Mark Lammers, and through their settled and composed play, they have been one of the world's most consistent teams for several years.

Also competing in pool A are Australia, the Republic of Korea (ROK), Spain and host nation China. Australian has a history of success in Women's Hockey, winning three Olympic gold medals, two World Cup gold medals and five consecutive Champions Trophies. The dominant team in the 1990s, Australia finished off the podium in Athens and is eager to return to its former glory. Their first match of the tournament will come against the ROK this Sunday.

China's team includes seven athletes that competed in Athens in 2004 and five that played in both Athens and Sydney. Ranked sixth in the world, China will be hoping a supportive crowd will propel them from their fourth place finish in Athens to a podium finish in Beijing. Their opponent on day one will be Spain.

The opening match of the day will be between Japan and New Zealand in pool B. The New Zealand women have played in three Olympic Games -- Los Angeles, Barcelona and Sydney – and qualified for the 2008 Olympic Games by winning gold at the 2007 Oceania Cup.

After joining Japan in 2006, head coach Yoo Seung-jin, focused on improving the team's defence. Once he was satisfied that the defence was solid he was able to encourage his players to be more adventurous in attack. Yoo will be hoping that these improvements will give the team a chance to fight for an Olympic medal.

World No. 2 Argentina, gold medalist from the Pan American Games, will meet the United States on opening day. Argentina finished in third in Athens and second in Sydney and is known for their quick, technical style of play. The team's lack of physicality sometimes costs them against bigger teams but more often than not Argentina come out on top.

The German Women's Hockey team arrives at the 2008 Olympic Games with significant expectations upon them. Reigning European and Olympic champions, the Germans have built a solid and at times spectacular squad of players. Their match against Great Britain will close the first day of competition.