China lost to South Korea 2-1 in the Women's Hockey World Cup ninth-place playoff on Saturday in Madrid, Spain.

The loss put a sour end to China's nightmarish run in the World Cup, which featured a 6-1 thrashing by the Netherlands on Tuesday.

China, tipped as one of the serious title-contenders before the World Cup, saw their defense succumb twice in the first half, the first in the 10th minute when Korean striker Choi Eun Yong scored from a penalty corner play, the second in the 13th minute as Park Seon Mi poked in a field goal.

China, who seemed to run out of ideas in attack in the first half, applied pressure after the break but could not create any real danger until the last minute when they were awarded a penalty corner. Ren Ye scored the consolation goal near the left post.

Kim Changbak, China's head coach who remained a lugubrious figure throughout the tournament, blamed his side's loss on poor defense.

"We suffered some defensive lapse and that led to Korea's goals," he said.

South Korea would be a tough rival for China in the upcoming Asian Games that are to be held in earlier December in Doha, Qatar.

"This game offered me a good chance to study the Korean side, Iwant to have an understanding of their pressure game. That will help us in preparation for the Asian Games," Kim added.

In two earlier playoffs, Japan beat the United States 1-0 to finish fifth, while India beat South Africa to the last place with a 1-0 win.

Both Japan and the United States have qualified for next year's Champion Trophy tournament with the top four teams, namely the Netherlands, Australia, Argentina and Spain.

The Netherlands and Australia, both undefeated in the World Cup, will play each other in the final on Sunday.

(Xinhua News Agency October 8, 2006)