Defeat for Irish in women's hockey clash

The Irish Women's hockey team suffered a heavy defeat (0-6) to top seeds China in their crossover game at the World Cup Qualifier in Rome today, (12pm Irish time).

China will now advance to contest the play off for the final qualifying spot, and Ireland will play for 7th/8th and valuable world ranking points tomorrow at 7pm Irish time.

Irish coach Reit Kuper said: "My honest feeling is that China were excellent today, and we just couldn't cope with them. They stepped up their game remarkably today, and scored superb goals."