Two top class semi-finals in the women’s competition today designated the Netherlands and China the 2014 Youth Olympic Games finalists.
In a semi-final that was another instance of the defining women’s rivalry in the last few years, the Netherlands took on Argentina. The Leoncitas scored first, but saw the tables turned midway through the match, and while Argentina succeeded in levelling the scores again, another Dutch double hit eventually finalized the ticket into the final for the Oranje ladies.
Hosts China and Japan locked horns over the other place in the big final, in a match that kept spectators in the packed stadium on the edge of their seats. The game seesawed back and forth, and neither team was ever able to build a comfortable lead. A pair of goals from Zhang Jinrong midway through the match gave China the lead for the first time, and turned out to be the decider at the end of the day despite the Japanese women’s best efforts.
The crossovers for fifth to eighth place saw Uruguay defeat Germany and New Zealand subdue South Africa.
In the match for 9th place, Zambia was stronger than Fiji today, claiming victory in the two teams’ last appearance on the fields of the Olympic Sports Park.
Results
Women
9/10th place: Fiji – Zambia 1:6 (0:2; 1:2)
5-8th place: Germany – Uruguay 0:2 (0:1; 0:2)
5-8th place: South Africa – New Zealand 3:4 (0:2; 0:3)
Semi-final: Netherlands – Argentina 4:2 (0:1; 2:1)
Semi-final: China – Japan 4:3 (2:3; 4:3)
You can keep up to speed on all of the action from the 2014 Youth Olympic Games on the official event website - www.nanjing2014.org, with hockey specific info available by clicking here. To learn more about the Youth Olympic Games, click here.
