Australian Team Profile
The Australian men's hockey team - the Kookaburras - will head into the Beijing Olympics as the favourite for gold.
Having beaten New Zealand to secure automatic qualification in October 2007, the men will be out to defend their Athens gold medal.
The Kookaburras are the only Australian team in any sport to receive medals at the last four Summer Olympic Games (1992-2004), and have placed in the top four in every Olympics since 1980.
After their recent success at the Champions Trophy, where they beat Spain 4-1 in the final, the Kookaburras have returned to the top of the world rankings.
Australia faces a competitive group at the Games, drawn alongside Netherlands (ranked 3), Pakistan (7), Great Britain (8), South Africa (13) and Canada (15). They should progress at the top or at least in second place and will then probably face Germany (2), Spain (4) or Korea (5) in the semi-finals.
The women's team - the Hockeyroos - is a strong chance to finish amongst the medals. Currently ranked fourth in the world, Australia faces a tough group against the Netherlands (1), China (6), Spain (7), Korea (10) and South Africa (12).
The team has a strong blend of youth and experience. Ten Aussies will be making their debut, while striker Nikki Hudson, goalkeeper Rachel Imison and defender Angie Imison are all competing in their third Olympics and will form the backbone of the team.
The Hockeyroos finished a disappointing fifth in the 2004 Olympics, after winning gold in 2000 and 1996.
Matches for both the men's and women's competitions will be played at the Beijing Olympic Green Hockey Stadium, with matches beginning on the August 10.
Australia has a great record in hockey at the Games, with four gold, three silver and three bronze to be the second most successful team in Olympic history behind India.
Previous Results:
Gold:
Women (1988, 1996, 2000)
Men (2004)
Silver:
Men (1968, 1976, 1992)
Bronze:
Men (1964, 1996, 2000)
The Australian Olympic Men's Hockey Team:
Des Abbott, Travis Brooks, Kiel Brown, Liam De Young, Luke Doerner, Jamie Dwyer, Bevan George, David Guest, Rob Hammond, Fergus Kavanagh, Mark Knowles, Stephen Lambert, Eli Matheson, Eddie Ockenden, Grant Schubert, Matt Wells
The Australian Olympic Women's Hockey Team:
Nicole Arrold, Teneal Attard, Madonna Blyth, Casey Eastham, Emily Halliday, Kate Hollywood, Nikki Hudson, Rachel Imison, Fiona Johnson, Angie Lambert, Kobie McGurk, Hope Munro, Megan Rivers, Kim Walker, Melanie Wells, Sarah Young