LONDON -- China failed to reach the women's field hockey semifinals at the London Olympics after losing to Japan 1-0 in the last round of group matches.
China collected seven points from two wins, one draw and two losses in the round-and-robin phase to finish third in pool A. Only the top two teams from each group advance to the semifinals.
It was China's first defeat to Japan in major tournaments.
"We'd never defeated China in official games. We had only beaten them in some friendlies," Japanese coach Yuji Nagai said. "I'm very happy with the results."
Rika Komazawa parred in a deflection resulting from a scramble in the front of the Chinese goal in the second half.
"Japan were lucky to score as the ball hit the bodies several times before it deflected in their way. But It's not an excuse. We didn't play our normal match," said Chinese coach Gao Lihua.
The results mean the Netherlands and Britain will reach the semifinals regardless of the outcome of their last group matches.
The Netherlands kept their unbeaten record by defeating Britain 2-1 late on Monday night and Britain finished second with a 3-2 win-loss record.
In the other pool, Argentina drew 0-0 with Australia to finish atop ahead of New Zealand.
The three teams had the same record of 3-1-1, and Argentina took No.1 due to better goal difference while Australia in third.
