The second round of the "Good Luck Beijing" Hockey Tournament came to an end on Aug. 9. The situation of the women's group became in advance, China and Australia entered the finals hand in hand with a victory each, while that of the men's group was still subtle after a draw between Australia and Pakistan; and despite a victory over Malaysia, China's prospect of qualifying for the finals was not that optimistic.

In the women's group, the close match between the two giants Australia and Argentina ended with the former beating the latter by two goals through Hudson and Rivers, while China clinched an easy won over the weaker South Africa with three goals scored by Ren Ye, Li Hongxia and Tang Chunling respectively.

After two rounds, the women's group has been out of suspense. Two victories each have reserved the top two places for China and Australia in advance and taken them to the finals, while Argentina and South Africa, both with two defeats, could only meet in the bronze-medal match.

In the men's group, Pakistan leveled the score twice and eventually drew 2:2 with the strong Australia. With one goal against, China leveled the score in a matter of minutes and gave Malaysia a deadly blow to call the day with 2:1 merely a minute before the end of the match..

After two rounds, the situation of the men's group became complicated. It is possible for any two of the three teams of Australia and China, with a win and a draw each, and Pakistan, with two draws, to make the top two of the group. Only Malaysia, with two defeats, has been eliminated at this stage.

After a rest day tomorrow the last round of competition will be held on August 11. The two men's matches, Pakistan vs Malaysia and China vs Australia, will begin at 8:30 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. respectively, while the two women's, Argentina vs South Africa and China vs Australia, will begin at 6:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. respectively.

However, since the two women's matches will not affect the qualification any more, all the four teams are likely to preserve their strength for the bronze-medal match or the finals on August 13.

In the men's group, if Pakistan draws with or loses to Malaysia, whatever result of the match between China and Australia, the latter two will enter the finals hand in hand. Nevertheless, Pakistan has a good chance of beating Malaysia.

If Pakistan wins the match, the winner between China and Australia will enter the finals together with Pakistan; but if China draws with Australia, the goal difference will help decide the rankings of the three teams. Australia, with four goals for, will undoubtedly qualify for the finals, so will Pakistan as long as it beats Malaysia by two goals or more.

All signs show that the current situation is unfavorable for China, as beating Australia is almost a mission impossible. Even if China manages to draw with Australia, it is still hard for the host team to make the finals, as all Pakistan needs now is a win over Malaysia by two goals.