Olympic::Men's Hockey Day 1 Preview

Australia's defense of gold begins with Canada

Australia brings a veteran team to Beijing to defend the gold medal it won in Athens. Nine-time winners of the Hockey Champions Trophy and bronze medalists in the Sydney and Atlanta Olympics, Australia will face Canada when the Men's Hockey tournament begins on August 11 at Olympic Green Hockey Stadium. Placed in the top four in every Olympic Games since 1984, the Men's Hockey team is Australia's most consistent performer in any Olympic team sport for the past 20 years.

World No. 2 Germany, third-place finisher in Athens, won the Hockey Champions Trophy in 2007 but finished in fifth place this year. An opening day victory against China, who are making their Olympic debut, may give them the momentum they need to challenge Australia for gold. The team will be relying heavily on a core of experienced, battle hardened players like captain Timo Wess, Tibor Weissenborn and Matthias Witthaus as well as the rising star of the team Moritz Fürste.

The Netherlands, ranked No. 3 in the world, will play the last match of the day against South Africa. The Netherlands won silver in the Athens Olympics and finished first in Sydney. After finishing a surprising seventh at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, the Dutch men bounced back in 2007 to be crowned European champions for the first time in 20 years. The team relies heavily on Teun de Nooijer, the player widely thought to be the best the country has ever produced. His pace, skill and vast experience give potency to the attack as he bursts forward from the midfield.

With a series of solid results in recent years, Spain has continued to grow under the guidance of highly regarded coach, Maurits Hendriks. The Dutchman, who took the Netherlands to the gold medal at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, has a strong squad known for its attractive style of play. The World No. 4 will open their tournament with a match against Belgium.

Great Britain's fifth-place finish at the 2006 World Cup in Mönchengladbach, their best finish since finishing as runners-up in 1986, is cause for optimism for Great Britain's chances in Beijing as they look to get back on the Olympic medal podium for the first time since claiming a famous gold medal at the 1988 Games in Seoul. They face Pakistan on opening day.

New Zealand meets the Republic of Korea (ROK) in the sixth match of the day. The ROK were late-comers to Olympic hockey, only making their debut when they hosted the Games in Seoul in 1988. In a remarkable progression 12 years later and in only their third Olympic hockey tournament, at the 2000 Games in Sydney, they came within a penalty stroke of becoming Olympic champions.

The medal matches of the Men's Hockey tournament take place August 23.