China buried deep down under by Kookaburras’ barrage of goals

BHUBANESWAR: Debutants China certainly have given a good account of themselves in the hockey World Cup. Not only did they hold Ireland to a draw, they also troubled England on way to a 2-2 stalemate.

After remaining in wilderness for almost two years --- they didn’t play in the Jakarta Asian Games and most international competitions --- China were an unknown entity coming into the World Cup. Perhaps that was the reason Ireland and England weren’t able to size up their game.

So, before their last Pool B game, the No 1 ranked team, Australia, too were apprehensive. In fact Aussie coach Colin Batch had said his team was expecting a tough game against China.

But on Friday, when Australia and China took to the field, no one was left in any doubt about the massive technical superiority of the Kookaburras --- the 11-0 scoreline being ample proof.

“China had drawn against Ireland and England, so, in our calculation, they were a tough opponent and we had not seen them play in the last two years, so we thought it would be a challenging game for us.

“We played good hockey and the final outcome is encouraging for us,” said Australia forward Flynn Ogilvie. “Now we have to shift our focus to the quarter-finals and we have three days before that to relax and prepare for the knockout game.”