Korea: Women's Field Hockey Team Qualifies for Athens Olympics
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| South Korea |
March 28, 2004 
Korea Times, South Korea
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By Kim Hyun-cheol
Despite their early struggle, the South Korean women¡¯s field hockey team secured the last ticket for the Athens Olympics as they beat the United States 4-0 in the fifth-place decider at the Olympic qualifier on Saturday in Auckland, New Zealand.
The win lifted South Korea to take part in its fifth consecutive Olympics, dating back to 1988 in Seoul.
South Korea, ranked eighth in the world, took the advantage from the start against the 10th-ranked Americans, and cruised to a comparatively easy win with goals of Kim Yoon-mi, Lee Mi-sung, Park Mi-hyun in the first half, and of Kim Seong-eun in the second half.
Once one of the strongest teams in the world and twice Olympic winners at Seoul in 1988 and at Atlanta in 1996, South Korea has struggled of late due to a lack of both public and governmental support. They placed third in their preliminary group at the qualifier and failed to advance to the semifinal, losing to Spain and Japan, who will meet in the final.
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