China upsets Belgium to reach Olympic field hockey final

Underrated and overlooked, the Chinese women's field hockey team has made its presence felt big-time at the pinnacle of the sport by upsetting European power Belgium in a dramatic semifinal to advance into its first Olympic final in 16 years.

Entering Wednesday's semis against the world No 3 team, the Chinese squad put up a gutsy fight as resiliently as it has been fighting at these Games, starting strong with a second-quarter goal from Zou Meirong and staying composed after an equalizer scored in the dying minutes by Belgium's Emma Puvrez tied the match 1-1 at the end of regulation.

After conceding two goals first in the nerve-wracking shootout, Team China kept its cool to score three back in a row. Goalkeeper Ye Jiao then rose to the high-stakes occasion, denying the Belgians' next three attempts with marvelous saves to secure Team China a final berth for the first time at an overseas Olympic Games.

The last time China reached an Olympic final was at Beijing 2008 on home soil.

As the lowest-ranked team in the semis at world No 6, Team China will continue fighting for a triumphant sequel to its David-vs-Goliath heroics when it challenges world No 1 the Netherlands in the Friday final at the Yves-du-Manoir Stadium in western Paris suburbs.

Team China's head coach Alyson Annan, an Australian legend in the sport, said her girls will approach the final totally pressure-free.

"(We have) everything to win and nothing to lose," Annan, a two-time Olympic champion as a player, said after Team China's thrilling shootout win against Belgium on Wednesday.

"We talked about this all the time since I started. We want to win a medal. We want to be on the podium in Paris. I almost say that at every single training. This is why we do this and we have to do this," Annan said of the confidence and mental strength she's installed within the team since she took over the Chinese program in 2022.

After all the country's other collective ball-sport teams crashed out of the Paris Games, the Chinese women's hockey squad has provided the whole delegation with a morale boost by securing at least a silver medal in Paris.

"Hopefully what we did here could bring more attention to the sport in China, inspiring more girls to pick up a hockey stick and give it a try. This means everything for the sport's profile and for everyone on the team," Chinese captain Ou Zixia said after the win.