OLYMPICS/ Preliminaries
Aussie hockeyroos hit a double in test event
By Yu Yilei (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-08-14 07:00
The Australian hockeyroos struck a double blow yesterday at the "Good Luck Beijing" International Hockey Tournament, where both the men's and women's teams defeated their hosts in the title games.
The Australian women's team, ranked second in the world, slienced the packed stadium as they edged out the Chinese 5-3 in a penalty shootout. The two tied at 2-2 after a goalless extra time but the visiting team proved better on the penalty line, netting the first three shots to China's one, by team captain Ma Yibo.
Later Australia's men's side, also world No 2, crushed the lower-ranked local team 9-0 in a lop-sided game to claim the title. China, ranked outside the world top 10, lost to the Aussies 6-1 in the group stage and tried in vain to stop their rivals' during a decider in which the hosts barely had a scoring opportunity.
Despite the narrow loss, China's women's coach Kim Chang-back said he was pleased with his team's performance.
"Taking on a strong team like Australia and playing a high-quality game is quite pleasing," he said.
"I am satisfied because my team played just as we planned."
The six-day tournament is one of the Olympic test events for the Beijing 2008 Games.
(China Daily 08/14/2007 page22)
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