Australia’s bid for a third consecutive Olympic women’s field hockey gold medal ended yesterday when they failed to make the semifinals after a 1-0 defeat by the Netherlands.

The Hockeyroos, who needed a win to qualify, paid for missed opportunities as Dutch captain Mijntje Donners scored the decisive goal from a penalty corner in the 47th minute. The Dutch topped Group B and were joined in the semifinals by Germany, who finished two points ahead of Australia after a 3-2 victory over South Korea earlier yesterday.

China, meanwhile, emerged Group A leaders with a stunning 3-2 win over world champions Argentina. The Chinese take on Germany and Argentina clash with the Netherlands in tomorrow’s semifinals.

The Hockeyroos won three of the last four Olympic titles, including two in succession at Atlanta and Sydney, under legendary coach Ric Charlesworth, who made way for David Bell after the 2000 event.

Captain Katrina Powell was inconsolable after missing four scoring chances in her 250th international match. “It’s the end of a dream,” said Powell, who was part of the winning side at both Atlanta and Sydney.

“I am not used to missing out on an Olympic semi-final. It will take time to sink in.”

The Dutch, bronze medalists at Sydney, and the fast-improving Chinese were the only teams in the 10-nation event to win all their preliminary matches.

China led Argentina 2-0 through goals by Ma Yibo and Fu Baorong before the World Cup champions drew level before the interval, Luciana Aymer scoring both times. Tang Chunling hit the winner in the 47th minute, leaving Argentina with their first defeat in the competition. “It does not matter we lost,” Aymer said. “What counts is that we are in the semifinals.”

Germany, who were staring down the barrel before Sunday with just one win from three games, played aggressively to down the fancied Koreans.

The Germans took a 2-0 lead by the 30th minute and scored another goal in the second half to make it 3-1.

South Korea, silver-medalists twice in 1988 and 1996, earned a last-minute goal through captain Kim Seong-eun, but it was not enough to keep them in contention for the semifinals.

Disgusted with his team’s performance, South Korean coach Kim Sang-ryul announced his resignation, saying it was impossible to coach women. “Never again will I coach a women’s team,” he said. “This is my last competition with this team. I have had enough.”