China women's hockey team aiming to improve on Rio's ninth place

Members of the Chinese women's hockey team arrive at the Narita airport in Tokyo, Japan, July 18, 2021. (Xinhua/Li Yibo)

China's women's hockey team vow to go all out and improve on their ninth place at the Rio Games.

TOKYO, July 19 (Xinhua) -- Ranked 11th in the world, the China women's hockey team will not be among the title favorites when the Olympic hockey tournament gets underway on July 24.

Yet the Chinese side, who are making their sixth consecutive appearance at the Olympics, still hope to improve on their ninth place at the Rio Games five years ago.

"It is tough for us to claim a medal," team manager Wang Tao told Xinhua upon the team's arrival in Tokyo on Sunday.

"But one of the core values of sport is about transcending ourselves. So we hope to play our best game after one year of behind-closed-doors training. We will go all out to show our competitiveness and mentality," Wang added.

China won the silver medal at Beijing 2008, the country's best record in the event. Of the 19 players in the current Chinese team, only nine participated in the last Olympic Games.

Captain Cui Qiuxia is optimistic about their prospects. "We are fully prepared now. Our goal is to stand on the podium," she said.

China is drawn in Pool B with Australia, Argentina, New Zealand, Spain and Japan. The top four teams in each pool will proceed to the quarterfinals, while the remaining four teams will be eliminated from the competition.