China loses 4-1 to Germany in Olympic men's hockey tournament

Christopher Zeller (R) of Germany fights for the ball with China's Luo Fangming during men's hockey Preliminary Pool A match of Beijing Olympic Games at Olympic Green Hockey Stadium in Beijing, China, Aug. 11, 2008. Germany beat China 4-1. (Xinhua/Li Yong)

Florian Keller (C) of Germany fights for the ball during men's hockey Preliminary Pool A match against China of Beijing Olympic Games at Olympic Green Hockey Stadium in Beijing, China, Aug. 11, 2008. Germany beat China 4-1. (Xinhua/Li Yong)

BEIJING, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- The second-ranked Germany defeated China 4-1 in men's Olympic hockey preliminary tournament here on Monday.

The bottom-ranked Chinese team, in its Olympic debut, took a seventh-minute lead with a field goal from Na Yubo, which piled much pressure on Germany. The Germans leveled the score when Zeller Christopher scored a penalty corner in the 21st minute.

Since Germany failed to convert a penalty corner in the 34th minute, the two teams tied 1-1 at halftime.

Keller Florian scored twice for Germany, and Nevado Carlos added another in the last three minutes, which secured Germany's 4-1 win.

German player Mueller Maximilian said China was the only team they had never played before and it's hard to guess what to expect. They felt much pressure and found it difficult to play China.

"We suffered a setback at the beginning and Chinese team is very quick and defensive, but we displayed our normal level later on and played better and better," said the German captain Wess Timo.

China's head coach Kim Sang Ryul said Germany were more experienced and better organized, and took good chances at their mistakes.

"I'm happy with our performance. It's our first Olympic game and we played against world top team, and played well," noted Kim.

China next meets South Korea and Germany take on Belgium on Wednesday.