Hosts China defeated Olympic champions Germany 3-2 on Wednesday to advance to the final of the women’s hockey tournament. The Chinese, roared on by excited local supporters, came from behind twice before finally pulling ahead of an errorprone German side.
“We were unlucky with our defending and we lost the plot. We are going to be really devastated tonight but
we will focus on getting the bronze,” said Germany’s Fanny Rinne.
China will meet the winners of the second semifinal between the tournament’s top ranked team the Netherlands and Argentina.
Germany, who are also European champions, opened the game strongly, with veteran Natascha Keller scoring in just the fourth minute before China drew level just before the interval after Gao Lihua was left unmarked in front of goal. The Germans again made a bright start at the beginning of the second half, with Janine Beermann picking up a short pass by the edge of the goal and pushing it over the line.
But the Chinese fought back strongly, pegging the Germans back in their own half and finally pulled level thanks to a powerful Ma Yibo
shot from a penalty corner.
The hosts took the lead in the 58th minute when Zhao Yudiao deflected a high shot into the back of the net and then shut the increasingly anxious Germans out of the match. The match was a repeat of the semifinal in Athens 2004, where Germany won before they took gold while China finished fourth. REUTERS