Els van Breda Vriesman, the Dutch president of the International Hockeyfederation (FIH), can be satisfied.

The four semi-finalists at the Hockey Junior World Cup each came from a different continent. No wonder ‘the global game of hockey’ will stay on the Olympic menu, as decided by Els and her comrades of the International Olympic Committee on Friday in Singapore. Soft- and baseball are not so fortunate.

Argentina fooled Australia in Sundays final, much or less in the same way the Australians did on Friday in the semis against India: one goal down, but the South Americans saved the best for last. In the final minute they secured victory: 2-1. India did, once again, the opposite in their bronze medal match. One-nil up, but forced into nerve-racking penalty strokes which they lost against the steady Spaniards. The boys in blue were angry and they had a point: in the dying minutes of the game a clear goal was disallowed by an incompetent referee.

It’s is a scant comfort, I know, but India can still claim that they are the best representive from Asia. But for how long?

Although they were not in Rotterdam, for me there’s one big potential powerhouse in Asian hockey: the invisible Chinese. At the beginning of this year Roelant Oltmans, back in power as headcoach of the Dutch national senior side, made a trip to the Far East with his squad. The played China three times, and believe it or not: the inexperienced Chinese won the last encounter. Oltmans admitted he was impressed by the Chinese, though he didn’t like their rude manners on the pitch. And the players? ”We were tired, it was freezing cold, it was at the end of our trip, so don’t bother”’, said several of them afterwards.

Yeah, and I am Santa Claus! If the world’s number twenty (last FIH-worldranking) can beat one of the global topsides in hockey you should be in a state of alarm. Whether it was a practice match or not, whether it was cold, rainy or snowy. The win over Holland means that, with three more years to go (!), the Chinese seem to have their game already on the right track.

May I remind what happened back in 1988 and 1992? South Korea and Spain organised the Summer Olympics, and both nations basically had to ‘invent’ a women’s team. The result: Korea won silver in Seoul, four years later Spain won gold in Barcelona.

I know, that’s women’s and not men’s hockey and it’s 2005 by now, but both examples reveal something quite interesting: if you train on a daily basis (twelve times a week!), if you have the financial resources and, moreover, if you have the iron will to succeed (in front of your home crowd), you can make it to the top. At least in ‘the global game of hockey’, and especially when you are China, the proud host of the forthcoming Olympics, and you have appointed one of the smartest hockeycoaches around, drill-instructor Kim Sang Ryul from neighbouring Korea.

No China in Rotterdam, but the Red Clouds are hanging over. Don’t be surprised in three years from now.

Mark Hoogstad is sportswriter for the Dutch daily and Rotterdam-based newspaper NRC Handelsblad.