Hosts China suffered the first defeat in Olympic women's hockey tournament as they lost to the Netherlands 1-0 in Beijing Thursday.

The match went tight until the 21st minute, Maartje Paumen scored the opening penalty corner for the Netherlands. China made three attempts in scoring but did not work out, thus the fisrt half ended with the Dutch leading at 1-0.

China gained more momentum in the second half, but they lost the only chance on a penalty corner in the 10th minute. Though launching several attacks, China finally failed to level the score.

By beating Spain and South Africa with an identical score of 3-0 in the first two games, it was the first goal China conceded.

The win puts the Netherlands on top of Pool A with nine points.

China next face South Korea Thursday and the Netherlands play Australia.

(Xinhua News Agency August 14, 2008)