Alastair Eykyn, BBC reporter

Britain's men's and women's field hockey teams will claim with justification to have made progress here in China. They each hope to finish in fifth place. They are making headway. Four years ago in Athens, the men finished ninth and the women failed to even qualify. We must be pleased that the direction of the curve is upward. Sometimes extraordinary things happen to ordinary teams Maybe it will all come good in London in 2012.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/olympics/2008/08/frustration_for_britains_hocke.html

(China Daily 08/21/2008 page27)