Olympic-hockey-Spain, New Zealand to reach the women’s quarters, China out

Author: Daniel Leussink

TOKYO (Reuters) -Spain and New Zealand reached the quarterfinals of the women’s hockey tournament at the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday. Group B.

India kept their hopes alive with a 4-3 win over South Africa’s Group A, although they could still drop out of the tournament if their debut Ireland beat Olympic champion Britain later on Saturday.

Spain missed Japanese striker Kanon Mori’s goal after six minutes, but increased the pressure and rose to victory 4-1.

Captain Maria Lopez Garcia said they were particularly motivated when coach Adrian Lock returned to the sidelines after COVID-19 quarantine.

“We’ve improved in every game. Now we’ve scored four goals. It gives us a lot of confidence for the next game,” Lopez Garcia said by taking a solemn group photo with his teammates.

“In the early game, we can improve everything, in defense, by adding goals.”

Japan defender Shihori Oikawa shed tears as the hosts decided the Tokyo tournament had lost all five group matches.

“Players from foreign teams are looking for ways to participate even after a mistake,” Oikawa said.

The Japanese team’s inexperienced players were worried too much after the mistake, he said.

Australia rose to the top of Group B after winning 2-0 in Argentina and Savannah Fitzpatrick praised the team spirit.

“I think we’re just proud … of a real team game,” he added. “The beauty of team sports is that we’re there with ten other girls. We don’t have to do it alone.

“It’s the secret of our success right now.”

Argentina also advanced to the semifinals, remaining hockey players and Spain third.

(Reporting by Daniel Leussink, edited by Shri Navaratnam / Peter Rutherford)